


Mirrorball

by AliceInFlannel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bisexual Dean Winchester, Bottom Castiel (Supernatural), Bottom Castiel/Top Dean Winchester, Bottom Dean Winchester, Bully Castiel (Supernatural), Closeted Castiel (Supernatural), Closeted Dean Winchester, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, First Kiss, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Gay Castiel (Supernatural), Gay Panic, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Castiel (Supernatural), Pining Dean Winchester, Poor Dean Winchester, Rich Castiel (Supernatural), Slow Burn, Switching, Teen Castiel (Supernatural), Teen Dean Winchester, Top Castiel (Supernatural), Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester, Top Dean Winchester, Virgin Castiel (Supernatural), Virgin Dean Winchester, it's going to take a while for them to get their heads out of their asses, seriously this is going to be a really slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:54:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 19
Words: 78,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25597624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceInFlannel/pseuds/AliceInFlannel
Summary: Castiel is the most popular boy at school. He has great friends, loving parents who give him everything he asks for, and he just landed a date with the captain of the cheerleading squad. That is, until Dean Winchester shows up in his life and ruins it.Or the one in which Castiel is a spoiled brat, and Dean puts him in his place.
Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Lisa Braeden/Dean Winchester
Comments: 139
Kudos: 218





	1. I've Been Having a Hard Time Adjusting

Monday, September 7

11:30am

* * *

“Castiel, wipe that confused look off of your face, I told you about this weeks ago,” Naomi Novak stands in her son’s bedroom doorway with her hands on her hips. Castiel Novak rolls his eyes. Of course he remembered his mother telling him about this, but he'd hoped she would forget.

“I have plans and it would be rude if I broke them,” Castiel says. “Haven’t you always told me to ‘honor my commitments’?” He uses quotation marks to remind Naomi that those are her own words that she’d instilled in him from a young age. The Novaks are a very powerful and well-connected family in Bar Harbor, Maine. Charles Novak is the CEO of one of the bigger investment firms on the east coast, and Naomi is a pretty well-established lawyer. They live in a sizeable mansion in one of the cushier gated neighborhoods in town.

“You have had plenty of time to reschedule them,” Naomi speaks slowly as if he's a child unable to understand the concept of time. “Mr. Winchester was your father’s childhood best friend, and he and his family are moving all the way from Kansas so he can work at the firm. While they’re looking for a home, they will be living in our guest house, and since you’re our son, it is important for you to be here when they arrive.”

“Why should I have to cancel my plans to meet Dad’s freeloading friends when they’re going to be staying here for a while anyways? Surely there will be plenty of time to meet them later,” Castiel reasons. 

“They’ll be your friends soon too,” Naomi says diplomatically. “Dean is your age and will be starting his junior year this week too, and he has a younger brother Sam who is going into eighth grade. I’m sure you’ll have plenty to talk about.”

“What? Like algebra?!” Castiel screeches. Naomi gives him a stern look for raising his voice. Being a lawyer, she’s always told him that he should be able to argue his point without resorting to raising his voice or using foul language.

“Maybe you should invite them to join you and your friends at the tennis club, then you wouldn’t have to miss out on your plans.”

“Impossible,” Castiel shakes his head. “I made these reservations weeks ago, I can’t just add more people to the list.” He sighs, “Not that I’d want to,” he mutters under his breath.

“Then you’ve made your choice. Lunch is at noon. Don’t be late.” Naomi turns and leaves the room before Castiel has a chance to argue any further. He waits until her footsteps are out of earshot before slamming the door as loudly as he can. He can’t believe his Labor Day plans are being ruined by some hick family from Kansas.

“Don’t slam!” comes Naomi’s voice from the intercom box on the wall. Castiel thinks she must've had it installed specifically for this purpose.

He collapses back onto his bed and closes his eyes, trying to clear all of his worries out of his mind. There isn’t anything to worry about. He’s basically the head of this school, or at least of the incoming junior class. Everyone knows the Novak name, so that gives him a decent amount of respect as it is. That and the fact that his crew sets the trends for the entire school. But Castiel knows that this is high school, and you can be in one day and out the next. His position is precarious.

The doorbell rings, and Castiel looks up at the clock. It’s 11:55. Right on time, unfortunately. He gets up and peeks out his window. He catches one glimpse of a boy who looks to be his age, and a shorter boy with floppy hair before they disappear into the doorway. He walks over to his bathroom for one last look at his first impression outfit. His mother always told him growing up that first impressions are everything. You can tell a lot about a person from the first few minutes of interaction you have with them. Castiel has no intention of becoming friends with Dean, but he won’t miss the chance to show the boy what he’ll be missing out on.

He checks his navy vest to make sure there are no stray cat hairs on it. His Siamese cat is adorable, but there's fur on literally everything in his room. He straightens his maroon tie, and then he runs his hand through his dark hair to give it that perfect “messy on purpose” look. He figures that’s good enough.

“Castiel, the Winchesters are here,” Naomi informs him over the intercom, as if he hadn’t heard the doorbell.

“Kay,” He responds and gives his hair one final muss before heading downstairs to the dining room where everyone has gathered.

“There he is,” John Winchester greets him overly cheerfully. Castiel vaguely remembers meeting the man once years ago when he came to visit his dad, but didn’t remember him having kids.

“Hi,” Castiel responds simply. Chuck walks around the huge mahogany dining table to wrap his arm around Castiel’s shoulder.

“Castiel, this is my oldest friend,” his dad gestures towards John.

“Don’t bring age into this, Chuck,” the other man jokes and everyone laughs even though it wasn’t funny. While everyone is laughing Castiel quickly glances at Dean and then away before the boy notices. In that quick once over he managed to notice a flannel shirt, a pair of dirty jeans, and work boots. He looks like he came here straight after working on a ranch.

“Woah, are these originals?” The younger brother with the floppy hair points over to a bookshelf on the far wall. Everyone else except for Dean and Castiel head over there to talk about the Novaks' fabulous collection of books and manuscripts.

Dean steps over to him. “Sorry about my nerd brother,” he says. His voice is huskier than Castiel was expecting it to be. “I’m Dean, the cool one in the family.” He smiles, and for a moment Castiel is blinded by the prettiest smile he’s ever seen. He notices that Dean’s eyes are very green before remembering that he shouldn’t care what color this boy’s eyes are. He looks down at Dean’s extended hand and grips it as tightly as he can. Dean looks shocked for a second and then pulls his arm away.

“Oh I’m sorry, are you okay?” Castiel asks as if he hadn’t done that on purpose. Dean gives him a confused look.

The rest of the group rejoins them then to get ready for lunch. “Let’s sit down,” Naomi says and gestures to the table. She has her party-hosting smile on, and Castiel tries his best not to roll his eyes. “Castiel, why don’t you sit down there next to Dean?” She says innocently, and this time Castiel does roll his eyes. He has a few ideas of his own about where his mother should sit.

Once the food is served and everyone is sufficiently distracted, Castiel takes his phone out under the table to send a text off to his best friend, Crowley. He wants to check how the boys are doing on the Labor Day activities he'd planned out for them before he'd been forced to cancel. 

**Castiel: How’s it going?**

**Crowley: Gabe is refusing to listen to me that the cologne he wants to buy smells like ass.**

They must be on the shopping portion of their trip.

**Castiel: Want me to talk to him?**

**Crowley: Nah, it's okay! See you tomorrow!**

Castiel frowns when he gets the message. It sounds like Crowley doesn't want to talk to him, but then again it’s hard to read into anything via text. His heart starts beating quickly as he pictures his three friends in the store laughing at Gabe’s lack of taste in colognes. _Inside joke number one._

“Castiel, no phones at the table,” Naomi interrupts him before he can shoot off another text. The woman has eyes like a hawk. The rest of the meal passes by with mostly the parents catching up. He feels Dean’s eyes on him a couple of times throughout the meal, but he never returns the gaze. Afterwards when they’re cleaning up the dishes, Naomi says, “Why don’t you take Dean upstairs and show him your room?”

“Kay,” Castiel says because he knows it isn’t worth arguing in front of everyone else. He quickly glances down at his phone again to see he hasn’t gotten any more messages from any of his friends. He sighs.

Monday, September 7

1:30pm

* * *

Dean stands in the middle of Castiel’s enormous bedroom and wonders how this is his life. In the past few years he’s lost almost everything. His mother died in a car crash when he was ten, then his father lost his job at the car garage. Then came the drinking and gambling. Almost all of their savings got wiped, and the bank was about to take their house when John finally swallowed his pride and called his old friend for help.

Now he’s standing in a mansion that has to be at leave five times the size of his old house in Kansas, next to a boy who apparently chooses to wear a vest and tie on the weekends. He looks down at the swimming pool and tennis courts in the yard and tries his best to stay relaxed, but inside he’s freaking out. He’s never been in a house this big before.

The other boy doesn’t show any signs that he’s going to be the first one to break the awkward silence, so Dean looks around the room desperately for anything to talk about. He walks towards a corkboard over a desk with a bunch of pictures on it.

“Who are they?” He asks, pointing towards a polaroid of Castiel and three other boys smiling and posing exaggeratedly for the camera. 

“My best friends,” the other boy responds. His voice is very deep for a seventeen year old. “We’re really close.”

“Is this one a model?” Dean points at the blonde guy blowing a kiss at the camera.

“He wishes,” Castiel replies. “That’s Balthazar.” He sounds bored.

Dean looks at the pictures of Castiel and his friends doing all sorts of fun looking things from screaming on a rollercoaster to hanging out on the beach. Even though this is a small town, there must be a lot more to do around here than there was back in Kansas. He looks over at the dark-haired boy who is busy looking down at his cellphone again.

“I can’t wait to meet everyone,” Dean tries his best to be friendly. Truthfully, even though he hasn’t gotten off on the right foot with Castiel, he’s glad he’ll know at least one person at school tomorrow. Dean doesn’t make friends easily. He was the captain of the soccer team back in Kansas, so he hadn’t needed to worry about trying to make friends, but here he's going to be the new kid. It's becoming increasingly obvious that things are very different here than they were back home.

Castiel looks up at him as if he’d forgotten he was in the room. “I’m sure you’ll find plenty of people you’d rather hang out with.”

“I doubt it.”

“Well you should try,” the other boy says harshly. “Me and my friends have our own thing going, and you’ll probably feel left out if you try and join in. You know, since we’ve known each other for so long.” Castiel phrases it in a way that makes it seem like he’s trying to look out for Dean, but he knows that’s bullshit.

“I’ll be fine,” Dean says just as forcefully. The other boy may have caught him off-guard with that painful handshake, but Dean isn’t about to let himself get pushed around by some stuck-up high school kid.

The phone in Castiel’s hand rings, and the other boy quickly answers it. “Ugh, what mom?”

Dean uses this time to take a closer look around this guy’s bedroom. Besides the sheer size of it, which had initially thrown him off, it looks pretty normal. There’s a shelf full of trophies on one wall. Dean takes a step closer and sees that the trophies are for horseback riding and tennis. He rolls his eyes, typical rich kid sports. In the center of the trophies is a picture of a younger Castiel standing next to a black horse. There's also a cat tree in the corner with a sleeping Siamese cat on it. No wonder his nose has been itchy since he walked in here. 

Castiel hangs up the phone and throws it on his bed. “Come on, I have to show you the guest house.”

“You don’t have to, I can see it from here,” Dean replies.

“Actually I do,” Castiel points at his phone and then walks over to a door that he opens to reveal a huge walk-in closet. Dean peeks inside and sees a bunch of different color suits as well as about twenty pairs of shoes. Why would anyone need that many pairs of shoes? Castiel picks out a pair of sneakers and takes off his dress shoes to change into them.

“Why are you changing? Aren’t we just going to the backyard?”

“Yeah, but if I get these wet in the grass it’ll ruin them,” he pulls on the sneakers and stands back up. “I’d offer you a pair, but you don’t care if those get dirty right?” _Is this kid really insulting his shoes right now?_

Before Dean has a chance to respond to that, Castiel walks out the door.

Monday, September 7

2:30pm

* * *

An hour later Castiel is sitting next to their family driver, Inias, on his way to Morningstar Farms where he boards his horse. They don’t have room to board his horse at the house, but thankfully the farm is only a fifteen minute drive away. He can’t wait to burn some of his restless energy off. He’d be lying if he said meeting Dean hadn’t shaken him up a bit.

Apart from the lumberjack outfit, Dean is actually really attractive. Castiel hadn’t gotten a great look, but he’d noticed that the other boy has lots of freckles. He must’ve spent a good deal of time outdoors. Castiel can’t help but wonder if those freckles extend further down his body.

_Stop thinking like that! You like girls…_ Castiel reminds himself.

Inias must’ve seen him twitch because he looks over at him with a concerned expression on his face. Castiel turns his head to look out the window, and Inias must realize he doesn’t want to talk about it. He watches as the trees rush past and tries to relax. Nothing has changed, and when school starts tomorrow he’ll prove that.

As they pull onto the gravel road that leads to the barn, Castiel breathes in the familiar smell of manure and hay and finally starts to relax. “See you in an hour, Inias,” he says as he quickly bounces out of the car and closes the door behind him. He’s running in the direction of the stables before Inias has a chance to say anything back to him.

He sees his horse Midnight has already been brought out and is ready for him. He takes the reins from the stable boy, and swings his left leg over onto the saddle. He’d gotten Midnight for his tenth birthday, and together they’ve won several trophies. He loves riding, and he never feels more in control than when he’s on his horse. Except for maybe when he's hitting balls on the tennis court. He taps Midnight lightly with his feet to get him moving and heads off along the private trail he’d booked for the hour. There are trees on each side of him, but the trail itself is cleaned of any debris and fallen tree limbs to keep it safe for riding.

After riding for a few minutes, Castiel taps Midnight again with his foot to start galloping. It’s nice and quiet out here, and he feels more relaxed than he has all day with the crisp air blowing through his hair. It’s silent except for the sound of the waves lapping against the rocks down below and Midnight’s hooves pounding against the earth. Morningstar Farms is pretty close to the ocean, as is almost everything here, and a lot of the trails have good views of the shimmering water.

Castiel hears a voice come from behind him, but he can’t quite make it out. A few seconds later he hears it again and can tell it’s a girl. “On your left!” Castiel looks up just in time to see a girl with red hair flash by him. He has to grip the reins to keep Midnight from throwing him off his back. The red-haired girl leaves a trail of dust behind as she races on down the path like nothing happened.

“Midnight, are you okay?” Castiel pats the horse’s neck, and he can feel him shaking underneath him. “We can’t let some random girl beat us, right boy? Let’s go!” Castiel leads Midnight down a side path that he knows is a shortcut to the beach. By the time the red-haired girl catches up to him, he’s already letting Midnight graze and cool off. “You’re on a private trail,” Castiel informs the girl as she stops her horse and dismounts.

“It doesn’t feel very private,” the girl responds and takes a sip of water from a water bottle attached to her saddle.

“It would be if you weren’t here,” Castiel retorts. She laughs musically and flips her hair out of her face. He realizes that she’s probably flirting with him. His normal reaction would be to ignore it, but with his conflicting thoughts about Dean earlier, maybe it would be better if he didn’t. She is kind of pretty, anyways.

“I’m Anna Milton, by the way,” she smiles and waves at him.

“Castiel Novak,” he responds. 

“Nice to meet you,” her smile widens. "Novak... you go to Hancock, right?"

"You've heard of me?" He asks.

“Of course I have! Well I’ll leave you alone to your private trail.” She puts the cap back on her water bottle and gets back up on her horse.

“Wait,” Castiel says before he can think. “I don’t mind if you stay.”

“I have to be getting back anyways, but I’ll come back again this weekend if you want to ride together.”

“Okay,” is all Castiel can manage in response.

“Then it’s a date!” She winks and gallops away, her red hair flowing behind her, while Castiel tries to slow down his racing heart.

Tuesday, September 8

7:55am

* * *

The next morning Dean sits at the table trying to force pancakes down past the lump in his throat. He never has trouble eating. What’s happening to him? Sam sits across from him at the huge table in the guest house’s dining room. Even the guest house is much bigger than their house back in Kansas. Moving boxes take up almost every available surface of the kitchen, and the only thing that feels familiar is the music coming from the radio. John has it tuned to the classic rock station as usual, and the sound of AC/DC is comforting to him.

Dean glances up at the clock ticking away on the wall and sees that it’s already 7:55am. Mrs. Novak told him that their family driver would pick him up at 8am to take him to school. Ignoring Sam’s pointed look he shovels his uneaten pancakes into the trash, grabs his backpack, and hurries out the door. He takes a deep breath of the warm morning air and is for a moment reminded of Kansas. His chest constricts when he thinks of home and all he left behind.

This is a fresh start, he reminds himself. It has to be.

He knows he has about twenty minutes of alone time in the car with Castiel, and he’s hoping to make a better impression on him than he had yesterday. If he was back in Kansas, he would’ve put Castiel in his place faster than the messy haired boy could blink, but he isn’t back in Kansas. The rules are totally different here. Dean is drowning, and Castiel is the only life vest around. He’s going to have to cling onto him even if he doesn’t want to.

Inias stands to the side of the Novaks’ sleek Range Rover and waves at Dean as he approaches. That’s a good sign. When Dean gets to the car, Inias opens the door for him. “Good morning, Dean,” he says with a smile.  
  


  
“Thanks,” he exhales. _So far, so good_.

He slides across the black leather seats to the opposite side of the car and sees that the interior is just as shiny as the car’s exterior. He notices that instead of seeing the car's dashboard, there’s another row of seats facing towards him, almost like it’s a limo. Jeez, the Novaks really are rich. He really wants to stretch out and put his feet on the other row of seats, but doesn’t want to seem rude. He’ll wait and see if Castiel does it first. He looks around a bit more and notices a mini fridge stocked with water, juice, and sodas. There’s also what looks like a TV on the ceiling that can probably be lowered in case they want to watch something. He didn’t know this amount of money existed. Even before their mom died, they were comfortable but they were never rich. Afterwards, it had been a struggle sometimes to even get food on the table. Especially when his father started drinking and gambling.

The nerves start to pick up again when he sees Castiel step out of the front door of the mansion. He’s wearing a suit and tie and a damn trench coat. What kind of teenager wears a suit and tie to a school that doesn’t have a dress code? He realizes that he has absolutely nothing in common with this guy.

The tinted windows give him the opportunity to give Castiel a more careful once over than he was able to yesterday. He’s just as beautiful as he had been when Dean first saw him. His dark hair is getting messed up even further by the wind which is also blowing through his trench coat like it’s a cape. Castiel doesn’t seem too bothered by that. Dean can’t be sure since the other boy is looking down at his phone again, but he imagines his eyes are just as bright and blue as they were yesterday too.

Dean has never been this attracted to anyone before, which is unfortunate since so far Castiel seems like he’s a total dick. He’s just now starting to come to terms with his newly found bisexuality so he congratulates himself on being able to realize he finds Castiel attractive without having an internal freak-out. Sam is the only one who knows about it, which is mostly because Sam stumbled on some of Dean’s experimental gay porn while snooping in his room one day.

Inias opens the back door, and a wave of summer heat rushes in. A black dress shoe steps into the car followed by the scent of some kind of masculine smelling cologne. Dean isn’t sure what aroma that is, but it’s mouthwatering. Before Dean has the chance to get another whiff of that scent, he’s being hit in the head by Castiel’s trench coat.

Dean makes a little “oof” sound which Castiel obviously didn’t hear because he gets in the car and slides all the way across the seat, bumping into him.

“What are you doing here?” Castiel actually sounds surprised.

“What do you mean?” Dean starts. “Your mom said I should ride to school with you. Didn’t she tell you?” Inias had expected him to be there, so he doesn’t know why Castiel is so surprised.

"Sorry." The dark-haired boy inches over to the opposite side of the seat. “I must’ve forgotten.”

“Oh,” is all Dean thinks to reply to that. It’s only day two, and he seems to already be off on the wrong foot again. Inias starts the car, and the silence is suffocating so Dean searches for any way to break it. “This definitely beats walking to school,” he jokes.

“I wouldn’t know, but I’ll take your word for it,” Castiel says in a bored tone while he taps away at his phone. “Hope you don’t mind we have to make a few stops to pick up my friends.”

“I thought it was just going to be us.”

“Why would you think that?” Castiel turns to look at him as if he’d just suggested the sky is actually pink instead of blue. They go back to being quiet, and after a few minutes the Range Rover stops in front of a private drive with a gate and a security guard. There are tall bushes obscuring any view of what’s behind the fence. Dean leans closer to the window to see if he can make out what massive mansion could possibly require this much protection.

“What are you doing?” Castiel asks him.

“Just trying to see,” Dean begins lamely. “I’ve never seen houses like this.”

“Everyone lives like this around here so you better get used to it,” Castiel snaps.

After a couple more minutes, a shorter boy with a beard emerges from behind the gates. Dean catches a glimpse of the house when the boy opens the fence. It has to be at least twice as big as Castiel’s mansion, which is insane. This boy is also wearing a suit, but his overcoat is black instead of tan like Castiel’s.

“He’s in full Armani. All black as usual.”

“What?” Dean turns to look at the other boy before he realizes he’s talking on the phone.

“We’ll be at your house in five,” Castiel says and then hangs up. Dean’s embarrassed that he thought Castiel was talking to him, but it’s almost like the dark-haired boy hadn’t even heard him. Inias opens the door and in steps the shorter boy.

“Hey, darling,” the new boy says in a posh English accent. He sits down on the row of seats opposite them. “Oh who’s the new meat?” He gives Dean a once-over that makes him slightly uncomfortable.

“We’re just giving him a ride today. He’s living in our guest house until his dad can afford to get a place of their own.”

Dean tries his best to ignore the sting of that comment. “Hi, I’m Dean.”

“Crowley.” He gives a slight smile, but it comes across shady like a politician’s smile. Does everyone here have weird names?

The car stops the next time in front of a mansion that at least has the decency to look like a house. A boy is sitting on the front steps reading what appears to be a Busty Asian Beauties magazine and eating a massive candy bar. When he sees the Range Rover pull up, he stuffs the skin mag into his backpack and runs to the car. He’s dressed like a rich frat boy, but at least that means he isn’t wearing a designer suit like the other two.

This boy slides across the seat right into Crowley’s side and ignores the other boy’s disgusted groan as he continues to munch on his candy bar. “What’s cookin, good lookings?”

“Gabriel, it’s barely 8:15 could you please wait to unleash the dad jokes until at least lunch time?” Castiel pinches the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

“Jeez,” Gabriel replies, “who pissed in your cereal this morning?”

Castiel looks pointedly over at Dean, and Dean tries not to roll his eyes. Is he supposed to pretend he’s not here or something?

“Oh hi,” Gabriel says as he notices him for the first time. “I’m Gabe.”

“Dean.” So far Gabe seems to be the most approachable of the three, but that’s not saying much.

The last stop before school is one of those old-timey, fancy hotels right up against the beach. The kind that costs almost one thousand dollars per night. Apparently the blonde who is currently stepping into the Range Rover actually lives in there. His parents must be the owners or something.

This should be the only boy left to pick up because Dean remembers in the pictures of Castiel with his friends that he saw yesterday, it was always four people. Dean thinks he likes this boy best on first glance because he seems to be wearing normal clothes, minus the fact that his v-neck shirt is surprisingly low-cut and he’s wearing what looks like an entire jewelry store’s worth of accessories.

“Hey bitches,” the newcomer greets as he slides into the car next to Gabriel. He also has an English accent. Maybe he and Crowley are exchange students or something. Even though there’s plenty of room left in the car, he must notice that there’s an extra person because his eyes immediately find Dean. “Well hello.” He eyes Dean up and down hungrily. “Who’s the hunk?”

Castiel shoots what appears to be a nervous glance towards Dean. It takes Dean only a second to realize Castiel must be worried how he will react to his friend being openly gay since he’s from Kansas. Dean knows people in the south have a certain reputation, and he may dress like a country boy, but he hates that Castiel would assume he’s intolerant. Especially since he’s actually bi.

He doesn’t think about anything beyond wanting to shock his new neighbor when he says, “I’m Dean,” and gives the new boy an exaggerated wink. It’s not until after he’s done patting himself on the back for causing Castiel’s jaw to drop that he realizes his mistake. He’s not ready to tell his dad yet, and he may have just accidentally outed himself.

“I’m Balthazar,” the other boy responds, his cheeks a bit redder than they were before. Dean’s not sure if he’s attracted to this boy, but it does feel nice being able to try flirting with someone when he knows he isn’t in danger of getting punched out.

Once the car is moving again, Gabriel reaches over Crowley and grabs a remote for the TV. He turns it on and switches the channel. Dean looks up and sees that it’s the end of the newest episode of Dr. Sexy M.D. Dean loves that show! 

“Ah man, I think we missed it,” Gabriel complains. On screen, Dr. Piccolo is mourning the loss of one of her patients. It’s a guy who was in a massive train accident and has been in a coma for most of the season. Dr. Sexy walks in wearing his characteristic cowboy boots and holds a distraught Dr. Piccolo in his arms. Then the screen cuts to black.

“Rest in peace, cute coma guy, you’ll be missed,” Balthazar puts his hand over his heart in mock sincerity and the other boys, including Dean, laugh.

“Should we dare Gabriel to swipe cute coma guy’s number from his dad’s phone for Balthazar?” Castiel asks the car.

“Yes!” Balthazar practically screeches.

“Do you think you can do it?” Crowley asks Gabriel.

“Definitely!” Gabe responds. 

“Wait, your dad knows the actor who plays Denny Drake?” Dean leans forward in his seat. “How?”

“He was just on screen with him,” Crowley says as if it's obvious. “Weren’t you watching?”

“Your dad is Doctor Sexy?!?”

“My eardrums,” Castiel covers his ears, but Dean is too excited to care.

“Yup,” Gabriel responds simply. “But please don’t call him that. I don’t think my dad and 'sexy' should be used in the same sentence.” Dean figures this isn’t a good time to share the fact that he didn’t realize he was bisexual until he started jerking off to fantasies about Doctor Sexy.

“Have you met Dr. Piccolo? Or any of the others?” Dean can’t believe he’s riding in the same car as someone who is related to television greatness.

“Easy there, David Letterman,” Castiel laughs mockingly.

Dean slumps back in his seat feeling like he’s been punched in the stomach. Maybe he just shouldn’t talk because he can’t ever seem to say the right things. This year is going to be a nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got really excited about Taylor Swift's new album, Folkore, and it made me want to write an angsty high school au. The story isn't necessarily inspired directly from the album, but I am using lyrics as chapter titles and am drawing inspiration from the nostalgic, high school feel of that record. Also, if any of you haven't listened to it yet, you really should!
> 
> I'm also currently working on a fic that is the complete opposite of this one. I'm trying to let myself write when I feel like it instead of forcing myself to stay on a strict posting schedule, but I promise I'm not going to leave either fic unfinished.


	2. I Had The Shiniest Wheels, Now They're Rusting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not every table seems as exclusive as Castiel’s, but that also makes them less appealing. Dean has always liked a challenge. Sammy tells him that's one of his weaknesses. He tends to make things more difficult than they need to be. Case in point, he should just pick any table and make some friends who won’t look at him like he’s a piece of gum on their shoe.

Tuesday, September 8

8:22am

* * *

For the remainder of the drive the boys stay quiet, and Castiel does his best to ignore his new neighbor sitting next to him. He pulls out his cellphone and begins typing out a message to their group chat.

**Castiel: he has got to go**

**Crowley: so does the flannel**

**Castiel: look at his shoes**

The other three boys lean over to get a look at Dean’s shoes, and Castiel bites his cheek to keep from laughing at how obvious they’re being. Dean has to know they’re talking about him.

**Gabriel: Did you rescue him from a farm?**

**Balthazar: I think he’s cute…**

**Castiel: of course you do**

**Crowley: you have terrible taste**

**Castiel: seriously, Zar**

Castiel puts his phone back in his pocket, signaling to the other boys that it’s time to switch back to talking out loud.

Tuesday, September 8

8:45am

* * *

Dean eyes the parking lot in front of the school where he’s going to be spending at least the next several months. He really shouldn’t be surprised at this point given how the rest of the carpool had gone, but his jaw still drops when he sees all the luxury cars parked out front, and this is the student parking!

His dad drives a ’67 Chevy Impala, and he just taught Dean to drive it before they moved here. His relationship with his father has been strained recently, to put it mildly, but when Dean got the hang of driving the Impala, his father had never looked more proud of him. He wishes John would give him that look more often, but he understands why he doesn’t. Dean is a complete fuck-up. Sammy is the one John is proud of.

Inias pulls into the drop-off lane and then stops the car. When he puts it in park Dean feels his heart rate speed up. The school itself looks welcoming, but Dean is sure it’s just a façade. Everything here seems to have a beautiful exterior hiding an ugly interior.

The instant the car’s engine shuts off the boys leave the car in unison and head towards the building. They walk beside each other in a straight line, taking up the entire sidewalk that leads to the huge front doors. Other students loitering around hurry to get out of their way, but none of them seem annoyed about it. In fact, most of the girls giggle as they pass and then excitedly talk to each other once they’re out of earshot. The other boys at the school all shoot them envious looks. Clearly this crew runs the place.

Hancock School for Boys is the private school Dean will be attending. It’s for boys only, as the name implies, but it’s directly across the street from the Hancock School for Girls. There’s a big courtyard in between the two where it looks like both the boys and girls gather to talk to each other before classes.

When Dean enters the school, he notices that almost everyone seems to be wearing one of two outfits. The first look is frat attire similar to what Gabriel is wearing. This is unsurprising considering it’s a hoity-toity private school. The rest of the boys seem to be wearing business clothes like suits or dress pants with nice shirts. For a private school which prides itself on not adhering to a uniform, it’s funny how everyone seems to dress alike anyways. Dean sticks out like a sore thumb. He sighs and walks to his first class.

Tuesday, September 8

10:15am

* * *

The second period bell had just finished ringing, and the boys are first in line to grab coffees at the on-campus café. Crowley and Balthazar are busy making fun of people’s outfits as they walk past, but Castiel is too bored to participate this morning. He takes a sip of his vanilla latte and wills his persistent headache to go away.

A nerd who he thinks is named Kevin approaches him slowly. Castiel can see the other boys in his nerdy crew are standing back watching them nervously. “Hi, you guys,” Kevin greets them. Gabriel looks up from the hot scone he’s been nibbling on, but doesn’t say anything. Crowley and Balthazar don’t react at all. “How was your summer?” Castiel doesn’t respond, hoping that his silence will be a cue for the kid to leave. “Hey, Castiel, I heard you’re taking that new kid under your wing.” Castiel raises his eyebrows, but still doesn’t respond. “Is he the newest addition to your posse?” Kevin continues hesitantly. He’s probably wondering if there are any openings in Castiel’s friend group. The answer to that unspoken question is a resounding no.

“Kevin, don’t you think if I had a new friend, he’d be here right now?” Castiel pushes off the wall and throws away his half-full cup. The latte isn’t helping. He isn’t surprised that it had only taken an hour and a half for people to start talking about him and Dean. There’s nothing this school likes more than gossiping, which is hilarious because stereotypically gossiping is considered girly. Here it’s the currency of the realm.

“You’re not really gonna be friends with Dean, right?” Crowley asks and seems genuinely concerned.

“Yeah, I’m going to ditch you guys and be his new bestie.”

“Seriously?” Gabriel asks.

“No, you ditz.” Castiel smacks him playfully on the arm.

“You made me drop my scone, asshole,” Gabe grumbles.

“Are you alright, Gabriel?” Castiel recognizes that voice and suppresses a groan. Why can’t Dean just leave him alone?

“Of course he is, we do this all the time,” Castiel replies frostily. Why couldn’t this guy get a clue? Gabriel picks up the scone and chucks it in the trashcan. Castiel notices that Dean is still standing there, so he turns to glare at him. “Dean, why are you following me like a groupie?” Everyone laughs except for Dean whose gaze hardens to match Castiel’s. The bell rings signaling that third period is about to start. The other boys rush off to their respective classes after exchanging goodbyes, and Castiel is left in the hallway staring at Dean.

“What is your problem, man?” Dean says, annoyed.

“Why is this so hard to understand?” Castiel continues to glare at him. Standing close to the other boy, it’s hard not to get distracted by his many freckles. “Why don’t you go make some friends of your own and worship me from afar like everyone else?”

Dean's green eyes widen, and he lets out a nervous laugh as if he can’t believe what he just heard. “I practically live with you, Castiel, you can’t force me to go away no matter how hard you try to.”

“Well obviously you haven’t seen me try.” Castiel picks up his bag and briskly walks to his next class, leaving Dean behind him.

Tuesday, September 8

12:30pm

* * *

When he gets to the cafeteria at the beginning of their lunch break, Castiel immediately moves in the direction of their table. People aren’t assigned tables, of course, but everyone knows that this table is theirs. He waits for the others to be seated and pull out their respective lunches before telling them the good news.

When they appear to be ready, Castiel leans forward and drops his voice into a gravelly whisper. “So who wants to hear about the date I have planned for Saturday?” When the boys look sufficiently excited, Castiel continues, “I have plans with a Hancock girl.” Their faces light up, and Castiel breathes a sigh of relief. So what if people are spreading rumors that he’s hanging out with the loser from Kansas? At least his friends are still looking at him the same way as they had last week.

“Why didn’t you tell us in the car?” Crowley asks.

“I didn’t want Dean to hear.” Castiel looks up from their huddle to scan the room for the obnoxious lumberjack.

“When did you meet her?” Balthazar asks and then turns to check out the crowd of varsity football jocks walking by. Castiel is happy that Balthazar has become so comfortable in his sexuality. Even though they live on the east coast, they're kind of in the middle of nowhere. People are more accepting here than he assumes people are in Kansas, but it is still risky to come out as gay in high school.

He wonders if it had been hard for Dean when he came out. He's obviously proud about being gay like Balthazar is if his over-the-top wink in the car earlier had been anything to go by. Still it must’ve been hard for him coming to terms with his sexuality in the south where people are more outward about their intolerance. He realizes the other boys are waiting expectantly for him to answer Balthazar’s question and that he shouldn’t care in the first place if it had been traumatic for Dean to come out as gay.

“Yesterday at Morningstar Farms. She has the reddest hair I’ve ever seen, and she has her own horse too.”

“How big are her tits?” Gabriel leans forward even more in his curiosity, and Castiel rolls his eyes. You can always count on Gabriel to say something tasteless.

“I’m not answering that.”

“Such a gentleman,” Crowley responds dryly. Castiel rolls with it because that’s an easier explanation than to admit he hadn’t been looking.

“I wonder if she’s the one,” Balthazar says dreamily. He's always such a sap.

Castiel looks around at his friends and launches into the story, telling them every last detail. They hang on his every word, just like always. He pushes the rest of his anxiety away. Nothing’s changed, he still runs this place.

Tuesday, September 8

12:34pm

* * *

Even though Dean has no appetite, he still gets in line at the counter to grab some food. He uses his time in line to scout out the available options for where he should sit. It’s only his first day, but he’s already figured out that where he chooses to sit today will probably have lasting consequences. 

He spots Castiel in the far corner of the room sitting with the three guys who’d been in the carpool with them this morning. They’re sitting at the smallest table in the room. Most of the cafeteria tables are designed to fit at least eight people, but theirs is half of that size. Probably to dissuade other people from trying to sit with them.

Not every table seems as exclusive as Castiel’s, but that also makes them less appealing. Dean has always liked a challenge. Sammy tells him that's one of his weaknesses. He tends to make things more difficult than they need to be. Case in point, he should just pick any table and make some friends who won’t look at him like he’s a piece of gum on their shoe.

Raucous laughter erupts from the table on the complete opposite side of the room from Castiel’s. Dean looks over at them and sees a few friendly-looking guys all joking around and laughing at each other. His feet are moving in that direction before he gives them permission. He feels like he’s giving up, and he hates being a quitter, but at least he’s likely to have some fun with this group.

When he gets to the table, the boys sitting there look up at him curiously. “Mind if I sit here?” Dean asks.

“Go for it, brother,” says the burly guy with a beard who looks older than almost everyone else in the cafeteria. He motions to the empty seat across from him. Dean sits down and puts his tray on the table.

“I’m Dean.”

“We know,” the thin, gangly boy sitting next to the burlier guy says. They couldn’t look more different from each other. “I’m Garth.”

“Benny,” the burly boy waves.

“I’m Kevin,” the kid sitting next to him introduces himself.

“You said you knew who I was,” Dean starts as he opens up his water bottle to take a swig. “Does news really travel that fast around here?”

“I don’t know about news traveling fast, but the gossip sure does,” Garth replies.

“This place couldn’t be more different from the school I came from.” None of them have been to Kansas, so he starts telling them all about the differences between here and there. He feels kind of like an exotic animal at the zoo, but at least these guys aren’t being rude towards him. He can feel Castiel’s eyes on him from all the way across the cafeteria. For someone who supposedly can’t wait for Dean to leave, he sure pays a lot of attention to him. Dean feels a little uncomfortable with that steely gaze on him, but he also feels a bit smug that Castiel is watching him have fun with these guys.

“Are you Castiel’s new friend?” Kevin asks, seeing that the dark-haired boy is looking over this way.

Dean almost tells him the truth, but then thinks how angry Castiel would be if he started saying they were friends behind his back, and he can’t resist. “Yeah I kind of am. How did you know?”

“I saw the two of you together earlier, and he’s barely stopped staring at you all lunch.” Dean resists the impulse to look back at Castiel’s table to see if it’s still staring. He doesn’t have to look anyways, the hairs on the back of his neck raising up are proof enough. Does this guy have no shame? He’s never met anyone who stares at people like that.

Kevin and Benny start talking about Castiel and about how out of character it is for him to pay any attention to anyone outside of his crew, especially a new kid. “No offense meant, brother!” Benny assures him even though Dean is barely paying attention. He’s too busy watching Castiel stand up fluidly immediately followed by the other three boys.

Dean fidgets in his chair when he sees that Castiel heading directly towards this table. He catches a whiff of Castiel’s enticing cologne and stiffens as he prepares for whatever is about to happen. He doesn’t have anything to worry about though because Castiel walks right past him without so much as looking in his direction. Balthazar gives him a little wink, but other than that, the other boys pay him no attention either.

“Jeez,” Benny whistles after they’d passed. “Castiel is really jealous.” Dean wonders if there is any truth to that statement, or if he’s just reading into things because Dean had lied about them being friends. Either way, he relaxes once Castiel is out of the cafeteria.

Tuesday, September 8

3:25pm

* * *

After the final school bell rings, the boys are already crouched in the bushes across the street at the girls’ school. It wasn’t Castiel’s idea, but Crowley and Gabriel had insisted that he show them what Anna looks like. And that was how he’d ended up kneeling in the mud with leaves stuck in his hair and Gabe’s ass way too close to his face.

“Could you scoot over?” Castiel gives him a little shove, but Gabriel just shimmies his ass a little bit as a joke. He’s always so obnoxious.

“Shhh here they come,” Crowley whispers. He’s sitting closest to the opening in the bushes where he can peek out at the girls without any of them being able to see him. Castiel rolls his eyes. He can’t believe he let them talk him into doing this.

“What does she look like again?” Gabriel asks while tearing open a candy wrapper in the noisiest way possible.

“Be quiet,” Castiel hisses and puts his hand over Gabe’s to stop him from crinkling the noisy plastic anymore. Some girls are walking towards the bushes, but he doesn’t see Anna among them.

“She has red hair,” he says and tries to move slightly so he can peek around Gabriel.

“Lots of people have red hair,” Crowley replies, squinting through the bushes.

“I mean really red… like fire-engine red.”

This stealth mission had required a decent amount of planning since both school days end at the same time. They’d all come up with excuses to leave their respective classes five minutes early and hurried to their designated meeting spot across the street. Balthazar is the only one who isn’t here, which doesn’t really matter since he's not interested in girls anyways.

“I think I see her at three o’clock,” Crowley says quietly.

“It’s already 3:30,” Gabriel sounds confused.

“Directional, you moron,” Crowley gives him a shove, and Castiel tries his best to keep his laugh quiet. He hadn’t been looking forward to doing this, but he loves hanging out with his friends like this. It doesn’t even matter what they were doing, they always have fun together.

Castiel peers around Gabriel to get a look at the girl Crowley is talking about. “Nah, that’s not her.”

“So she really asked you to meet her on Saturday?” Crowley asks.

“Yeah,” he replies, “And she also winked when she asked.”

Crowley and Gabriel whoop and playfully shove him as they joke about how he’s going to 'get some', but Castiel doesn’t feel as excited as he figures he should be.

“This looks like more of a wrestling match than a stake-out,” Balthazar says as he joins them behind the bushes. “What’d I miss?”

“Nothing, we were just talking about Anna Milton,” Gabriel explains. He offers Balthazar a bite of his candy bar, but the blonde turns him down quietly.

“Again?”

“Yeah,” Castiel replies curtly, “Where were you?”

“Mr. Adler didn’t believe my excuse that I was having a medical emergency.”  
  
  


“What did you say your emergency was?” Crowley asks.

“That’s the problem, I completely forgot to come up with one so when he asked, I panicked and told him I was having menstrual cramps.” Everyone bursts out laughing and then Castiel remembers they’re supposed to be acting stealthy. He shushes everyone, but they keep shaking with silent giggles.

“Can we get back to looking for Anna, please? I want to go home.” Castiel resumes looking through the bushes.

“Are you sure you guys didn’t miss her?” Balthazar asks.

“Wait,” Castiel says, holding up his hand. “There she is.”

“Wow, she’s hot,” Crowley sighs, and Gabriel looks like he’s about to start drooling. Anna is very pretty, he’d have to be blind not to notice that, but there’s something missing. In all those romantic songs he likes listening to but would deny knowing if anyone ever asked him, the artists always talk about feeling butterflies in their chest when they’re crushing on someone. Castiel has never felt that before, and he thinks he would know it if he had. Maybe he just hasn’t met the right person yet.


	3. You Meet Some Woman on the Internet and Take Her Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean feels his heartbeat stutter. It’s bad enough that he’s developed quite an attraction to his straight next door neighbor who hates him. He cannot let that attraction turn into an unrequited crush.

Friday, September 11

5:00pm

* * *

“Did Dad tell you I’m going over to a friend’s house for a sleepover tonight?” Sam asks as he walks past where Dean is lounging on the couch in front of the TV. Dean's been flipping aimlessly through the channels since he doesn’t know what any of the numbers are yet. He isn’t surprised Sam has already made friends. The twelve year old may be a scrawny nerd, but he is likeable and friendly. Dean, on the other hand, is Dean.

“I’m going out with my new friend, Benny,” Dean lies and turns his face back to the TV, hoping Sam doesn’t call him on it. Before Sam gets the chance, Naomi Novak knocks lightly on the front door and lets herself in before Dean has a chance to. “My dad isn’t here,” he lies. That’s two lies in less than a minute, but in this case he thinks it’s forgivable. He can’t exactly tell the wife of his father’s best friend who is generously letting them stay in their massive guest house that his father is currently passed out drunk in the bedroom.

Mrs. Novak is wearing a gray pantsuit that fits her perfectly. Dean figures she must’ve just gotten home from work, but then again all of the Novaks had been dressed up in their Sunday best when they first got here. Maybe they don’t know the definition of comfortable clothes. “I’m actually here to see you,” she says with a smile.

“You are?” Dean’s eyebrows shoot up his forehead.

“Castiel hosts a sleepover every Friday, and I’d like you to come tonight if you don’t already have plans.” She smiles encouragingly at him.

Sam looks at him expectantly, and Dean’s face heats up realizing he’s about to be caught in his lie about hanging out with Benny. “I’m sure Castiel wouldn’t want me to come,” he tries to say diplomatically.

“Who would?” Sam says between fake coughs, and Dean shoves him away. The kid takes off running up the stairs to his room. At least that gets him out of earshot for the rest of this conversation.

“I insist!” Naomi says, choosing to ignore the brotherly conflict that she just witnessed. “And Castiel insists. It starts at 7:30. You don’t need to worry about bringing anything besides your wonderful self.” Dean knows she’s just trying to be nice to make up for the fact that her son isn’t, but it’s still a little creepy. She leaves as quickly as she arrived, and Dean rushes upstairs to get ready, trying his best not to freak out.

“I thought you already had plans…” Sam smirks as Dean runs past him.

“Shut up, Sam!”

Friday, September 11

8:00pm

* * *

Dean arrives at the sleepover a half hour late so he doesn’t appear too desperate. The thing is, Dean is totally desperate. He doesn’t know what it is about Castiel that draws him in and makes him want nothing more than to get to know him, but It’s like there’s some sort of invisible string pulling him towards him.

As he walks up the gravel driveway in between the guest house and the main house, Dean can see the lights on in the living room. He feels a wave of nervous butterflies in his chest, and almost turns around and walks back to the guest house. He can’t remember the last time he’s been to an actual sleepover. He didn’t know boys in high school still did that. He knows in his gut that Castiel had nothing to do with inviting him to this sleepover. For some reason he can’t understand, Naomi is doing her best to foster this unlikely friendship between the two of them. Maybe she’s aware of how territorial Castiel can get and doesn’t want any teenage turf wars on her property.

When he gets close to the house, he can hear the thumping bass of some top 40 song he doesn’t recognize. Balthazar and Gabriel are fake grinding on each other while Castiel and Crowley watch them in amused disgust. The butterflies flap insistently against his ribcage. Castiel looks even more attractive this evening than he had during school today. He’s wearing a pair of black sweatpants with a gray vintage AC/DC shirt. Apparently he does own comfortable clothes.

Dean feels his heartbeat stutter. It’s bad enough that he’s developed quite an attraction to his straight next door neighbor who hates him. He _cannot_ let that attraction turn into an unrequited crush.

He tries knocking on the front door, but nobody answers. He assumes the music is too loud for his knocking to be heard over it. He tries to open the door and finds it unlocked, so he cracks it open and yells around it. “Hello?”

“In here, Dean,” Naomi shouts over the din. When he steps into the house he notices that it smells like cinnamon and sugar. He wonders if they have a candle lit until Naomi comes around the corner wearing oven mitts. That explains it. “Alright boys, break is over.” She claps her mitted hands together. “I need help with these.” She walks back into the kitchen, the other boys turn down the music and get ready to follow her.

Crowley, Balthazar, and Gabriel don’t even glance at him as they head into the kitchen. Castiel smirks at him and whispers “nice jammies” quietly so his mother can’t overhear him. Then he follows the rest of them into the kitchen.

Dean knows Castiel’s comment wasn’t meant to be a compliment, but he seriously has no clue what about his pajama situation could be made fun of. He’s wearing pretty standard flannel men’s pajama pants and a black Led Zeppelin shirt. It’s not that far off from what Castiel is wearing. Dean shakes his head in confusion and heads into the kitchen which is complete chaos.

Gabriel is juggling eggs in the corner while Balthazar hoots and hollers at him. Naomi is yelling at everyone to be quiet, but nobody is listening to her. Dean watches as Castiel takes a wooden spoon with batter on it and swipes it across the back of Crowley’s neck while he isn’t paying attention.

“Bloody hell!” Crowley jumps and then smacks Castiel who’s now dying laughing. Dean has to admit that was pretty funny.

“Language!” Naomi scolds him, and Crowley bows his head in apology. “Castiel, honey, can I have a word with you in the living room?” Naomi gives Dean a small smile as she walks past him. Castiel doesn’t spare him a second glance as he stalks by following his mother. After the two of them are gone, the kitchen becomes uncomfortably quiet. Dean wishes he had followed his gut earlier and returned to the guest house instead of subjecting himself to more of this.

Friday, September 11

8:12pm

* * *

“I don’t understand why it’s so important to you that I become friends with him!” Castiel exclaims as he watches his mother pace angrily around the living room. He can’t believe she pulled him aside during his weekly sleepover to lecture him like he’s ten.

“Dean is a guest in our house. I’m sure you’ll like him if you give him a chance.”

“Mom, why don’t you stop worrying about him so much and start thinking about how all of your intervening is affecting me!” His voice cracks on that last word, and he takes a deep breath so he won’t cry. He’s not sad, he’s just angry and unfortunately his anger seems to be hard-wired to his tear ducts. He storms out of the living room and into the downstairs bathroom to splash some cold water on his face and cool off.

A few minutes later he hears a tentative knock on the door. “Cassie.” It's Gabriel. “We’re going to start setting up the gazebo. Are you coming?”

He coughs quietly and wills his voice to sound normal. “Sounds good! I’ll be out in a bit.” He scrolls absently through his twitter feed for a few minutes until he can hear the sound of his mother’s footsteps going upstairs to her room. When he’s sure she’s gone to bed, he leaves the bathroom.

He tiptoes to the cabinet where he knows his dad keeps the liquor. Normally he wouldn’t do this, but tonight he needs a little liquid courage. He picks out a mostly-full bottle of tequila and reasons that his dad probably won’t notice if it goes “missing”. He walks over to the outdoor gazebo where they always hold their sleepovers. This time of year when the weather is nice, they keep the walls open to let the breeze in. It’s almost like going camping except the walls have screens on them to keep out the bugs.

“Sorry I took so long, I had to wait for my mom to leave.” Castiel holds up the bottle of tequila in victory, and everyone cheers. He sees Dean’s eyebrows rise fractionally.

In the time he was gone, the four of them had set up the sleeping bags, including one for him. They are in the process of starting a game of Would You Rather, and everyone agrees that it will be much more fun now that they have alcohol. They each take a big swig directly from the bottle to start them off.

“Would you rather have a dick that’s short, but has girth or one that’s long, but thin?” Balthazar asks. Dean splutters because Balthazar asked that right when he was taking another swig of tequila.

“Nice try, Zar, we’re not going to tell you what our dicks look like,” Crowley teases, and Castiel bursts out laughing. They’re just teasing him. Obviously they’re fine with his sexuality, but he sees Dean shoot Balthazar a concerned glance as if to make sure he’s alright.

Balthazar’s cheeks are slightly pinker when he yells, “Whatever, your turn!”

“Would you rather cough every time you exhale or hiccup every time you inhale?” Gabriel asks.

“I’d kill myself,” Castiel deadpans.

Gabriel thinks for a moment, “Fair enough. Your turn, Cassie.”

Castiel sits down on his sleeping bag and ponders for a minute, trying to think of a good one. He takes another big sip from the bottle and everyone cheers. His tongue has definitely loosened up a little bit already. “Would you rather be in a loveless relationship or be single forever?” The other boys silently weigh their options, but he knows which one he’d pick right away. He’d rather be single and lonely than forced to fake feelings for someone he doesn’t love. He doesn’t know why this one seems to be hitting so close to home tonight.

“I’d definitely pick the loveless relationship,” Crowley leans back on his sleeping bag. “You never said anything about the sex being bad.” He winks at the others.

Balthazar laughs, “Same with me.”

“Ditto,” Gabriel says. “What about you, Cassie?”

“Loveless relationship, definitely.” He hopes that sounds believable. He can feel Dean’s eyes on him again, but doesn’t meet them with his own. He’s worried what Dean would be able to read from him if he did. He seems to be very perceptive.

“Of course Castiel doesn’t have to worry about being alone forever now that he’s got a date with a certain red-haired cutie named Anna Milton,” Balthazar teases and the other boys join in. He doesn’t know why he looks towards Dean to see what his reaction is, but he can’t read whatever expression flashes across his face. Once Dean meets Castiel’s eyes, his face closes off.

“Dean, your turn to answer,” Crowley prods him.

“Single forever,” Dean answers quickly, and Castiel can’t decide if he finds his honesty brave or stupid.

Crowley smirks, and Castiel immediately knows where this is going. “Well you’re in luck, you probably will be!” Crowley looks at Castiel for approval because his comment was extra nasty, but he's too busy reeling from the realization that he might actually be forced to make this Would You Rather choice at some point if he ends up going out with Anna and not falling for her.

Gabriel and Balthazar both look a bit uncomfortable, and Dean is staring down at the sleeping bag he’s sitting on as if it holds all the answers.

“I’m just kidding, Dean,” Crowley says after reading the room. “It was a joke.”

“Where I come from, jokes are supposed to be funny,” Dean retorts, and Castiel has to disguise his chuckle as a cough. From the glare Crowley sends him, it’s obvious he can tell he was laughing at him.

There’s an awkward moment of silence before Dean starts rolling up his sleeping bag quickly. “You know what, I think I’m going to head back to the guest house. You guys obviously don’t want me here, and I usually only like to be mocked on Tuesdays, not Fridays.” After he finishes rolling up the sleeping bag, he leaves the gazebo without turning back around. The other boys high-five each other on a job well-done, but Castiel feels a pit forming in his stomach.

“I’ll be right back,” he says and then gets up to go follow Dean. He can feel the shocked silence around him, but he doesn’t care at the moment. He sees Dean is already halfway across the lawn to the guest house, and he has to jog a bit to catch up to him.

“Dean, wait,” he pants, realizing he’s already a little bit out of breath. “Come back, we were just messing around. We do it with everyone.” Dean stops suddenly, and Castiel almost runs into him. When he turns around, he notices how close they’re standing to each other, but for some reason he doesn’t want to move away. They stare at each other silently for a moment, and he watches Dean’s tongue peek out of his mouth to wet his lips. Castiel can’t seem to take his eyes off of Dean’s lips. He finds himself wondering what it would feel like to press his mouth against them. They’re barely a foot apart, all he’d have to do is lean in. _Wait, what???_

He stumbles backwards a step so he doesn’t do anything stupid. Dean looks at him in that way he was worried about earlier, as if he can see all of his secrets painted across his face. Dean smiles softly, but it’s a sad smile. “I know who I am, Cas,” he whispers. “Who are you?”

Castiel’s heartbeat quickens at the nickname. Nobody has called him ‘Cas’ before, it’s always either his full name or ‘Cassie’. He has no idea what Dean means, so he has no idea how to reply. He stands there just looking at Dean. He wants to be able to know his secrets as well as Dean can seemingly read his. When Dean notices that he isn’t going to get a reply he sighs and says, “Night, Cas,” before turning around and walking the rest of the way to the guest house.

Castiel doesn’t move until the other boy’s form completely disappears into the dark.

Saturday, September 12

11:24am

* * *

Dean sits on the concrete bench next to the fountain the circular driveway wraps around while he waits for Benny to come pick him up. He’s excited to be able to hang out with his new friend even though he barely got any sleep last night. He wasn’t sure how he’d let it happen, but it had only taken a week for Castiel to sink his hooks into him. After their awkward moment outside last night, Dean’s not even sure Castiel is aware of how he affects him.

Dean spent most of the night arguing with himself. His gut is telling him that Castiel is bad news, and he needs to avoid him wherever possible. Obviously he’ll have to interact with him some since they live on the same property and go to the same school, but he needs to stop going out of his way to spend time with the guy. His heart is telling him that there’s something more to Castiel than meets the eye, but that it’ll take time to break him out of his self-absorbed shell. If that’s even possible. Regardless of which part of him is winning the argument, it’s become clear that his little obsession is starting to get unhealthy.

He sees a black car pull into the driveway and stands up. He can see Benny sitting in the passenger seat, and in the driver’s seat is an attractive girl with very red hair. Once the car pulls to a stop, Benny gets out and waves at Dean. The red-headed girl steps out of the car and moves to Benny’s side.

“Hey Dean, this is my step-sister, Anna.”

The gears shift quickly in Dean’s brain. Anna… red hair… This must be the girl Castiel is going on a date with. He looks up towards the window that he knows belongs to Castiel’s room and sees the dark-haired boy watching them. _Showtime_.

“Hi, Anna, I’m Dean,” he puts on his most charming smile and reaches out his hand for a shake. Anna returns the smile, and when their hands meet, Dean makes sure to hold on slightly longer than would normally be socially acceptable. He also gently swipes his thumb back and forth on the back of her hand twice before letting her go.

When Anna takes a step back, she has a light blush on her cheeks, and Dean can tell she’s a bit flustered. He feels bad for toying with her just to get a reaction out of the boy who he can literally feel shooting daggers at him from fifty yards away, but he also feels satisfied when he turns around to see the blinds on the window closed and Castiel gone.

Anna clears her throat, “Well I should probably head out. I’m going riding later this afternoon.” She heads back to the car.

“Have fun!” Dean says cheerily. He and Benny wave as the car pulls out of the driveway, and then Benny turns to him with a smirk on his face.

“I think she likes you, cher,” he chuckles.

“Are you going to give me the protective brother ‘if you hurt her…’ speech?”

Benny throws his head back and laughs. “No, man, she can take care of herself. Trust me. If you wanna take your shot, go ahead.” He claps Dean on the back, “but be warned, she doesn’t take anybody’s shit.”

After the car is out of sight, Dean claps his hands together. “So, what do you want to do?”

Benny thinks for a moment. “Do you have any video games?”

“Only all of them,” Dean laughs, “Come on, let me show you the guest house.”

Saturday, September 11

11:45

* * *

“I can’t believe him!” Castiel shouts into his phone. After he saw Dean flirting with Anna, he immediately called the other boys. They are currently in the middle of a heated conference call, with Crowley calling Dean all sorts of names while Castiel stands in front of his mirror wondering how he’d look with sandy blonde hair.

_Maybe it’s the freckles_ , he thinks to himself. Everyone likes freckles. Castiel isn’t blind. He knows Dean is attractive _. In an obvious way, not in a gay way_ , he reasons. Maybe Anna likes that.

“What are you going to do?” Balthazar asks. Castiel is conflicted because he’s not even sure if he likes Anna in the first place, but he’s annoyed at how Dean is trying to sabotage him. That had to have been his plan, since he looked up at the window to see if Castiel had been watching before he went in for that very prolonged handshake. He can’t let this boy from Kansas outplay him like that in his first week in town.

“I’m going to head to Morningstar Farms. Anna left ten minutes ago, so she’s probably almost there.” The other boys wish him luck and he hangs up. He’s going to have to turn on the charm if he wants to compete with Dean, which makes his stomach seize up nervously. He’s not a player. He’s never really flirted with girls, and he’s freaking out at the possibility of Anna trying to kiss him or something. He’s not sure if he’s ready for that.

Inias pulls up at the farm only fifteen minutes later. Castiel gets out of the car with a quick “thank you” and tells him to pick him up in an hour. He heads over to the front desk where he sees a girl working there who he recognizes. He walks up to her and puts on his most charming smile. He doubts he looks at convincing as Dean would, but confidence has to count for something.

“Hi,” He quickly reads her name-tag, “Becky.” Smile. “I’m supposed to meet a friend here, but I forgot which trail we’d agreed to meet on. Would you mind telling me?”

“I’m not really supposed to give out that information,” Becky says hesitantly.

Time to up his game. He gives her another smile and leans forward onto the counter slightly lowering his voice. “Listen, you’d be doing me a huge favor.” Another smile. “Please.”

She looks around to see if her boss is within earshot. “Okay, what’s the name?”

“Anna Milton.”

“Looks like she’s on the Seaside Trail,” Becky says with a smile.

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate it!”

“Anytime!” Becky winks. Maybe this whole flirting thing is easier than he thought. He goes outside to where they’re bringing out Midnight already saddled up. He puts his left foot in the stirrup and hoists himself up then heads towards the trail. He hopes Anna remembered that they’d made tentative plans to meet today. It would be awkward if he just showed up like a stalker, which he isn’t by the way.

His worries are unnecessary though. Anna is waiting for him at the beginning of the trail and waves when he comes around the corner. “Hey, I wasn’t sure you’d be here,” he lies.

“I wanted a rematch of our race,” Anna gets up on her horse. “This time, no cheating.”

“I’m offended you’d even suggest I was cheating,” Castiel puts his hand over his heart in mock hurt.

“Okay, no exploiting loopholes then.” She winks at him. “Ready, set, GO!” The two of them immediately take off along the trail. It isn’t really designed to fit two horses side by side, so Castiel stays behind Anna. He figures he can try to pass her when the trail opens up before reaching the beach.

They ride in silence for a while, and Castiel takes that time to admire the way Anna sits confidently on her horse. Her posture is impeccable, and her flaming hair is mesmerizing as it bounces in her ponytail. He thinks about what it would be like to ride side by side down the beach and for him to reach his hand out to take hers the way Dean had earlier. Would she let him? His nerves spike up again. He’s always been terrified of rejection, but sometimes you have to open yourself up to rejection in order to be rewarded.

When they reach the beach he pulls up beside her, and she looks over at him, clearly waiting to see if he’s going to try and race past her. Instead he takes a deep breath and tentatively reaches out his hand palm side up in a silent offering. She looks down at his hand and smiles before reaching out to take it.

They walk their horses up and down the beach several times, talking about anything and everything that crosses their minds. Throughout it all, Anna keeps her hand in his. Occasionally he brushes his thumb back and forth the way he’d seen Dean do earlier, and he understands the appeal of that now. Her hand is surprisingly soft, and though it’s smaller than he was expecting for some reason, it fits nicely in his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been writing a lot so I guess I'll just keep posting when I feel like it haha


	4. In My Defense, I Have None

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean is so angry, and he feels so alone. When Castiel said he hadn’t seen him try yet, he had no idea things would get this bad.

Saturday, September 19

11:11am

* * *

Dean stares at the microwave while he waits for the clock to hit 11:11. Everyone knows that any time the clock hits 11:11, you have a free pass to make as many wishes as you possibly can in the minute before it hits 11:12. Once he sees the clock change, he makes as many wishes as he can without thinking about it too much. He wishes his dad would stop drinking and go to work, he wishes Sammy could win the science fair he’s been talking about entering, he wishes Castiel would stop treating him like a pariah, and more than that, he wishes for Castiel’s approval because that would lead to Crowley’s, Balthazar’s, Gabriel’s, and basically the entire rest of the school’s approval. He wishes he would get accepted to the Hancock school’s soccer team when he tries out for it in a couple weeks. He wishes he could punch Castiel right in his smug face. Then he wishes he could kiss him.

Dean is so angry, and he feels so alone. When Castiel said he hadn’t seen him try yet, he had no idea things would get this bad. He’s not sure how Castiel managed to do it, but this week he’s been shunned by basically everyone at school. Benny still talks to him, but once Garth and Kevin had found out he’d been lying about being friends with Castiel, they hadn’t wanted to sit with him anymore. He spent the entire week eating lunch in the bathroom to avoid having everyone see him forced to sit alone.

Sam knows something is up because Dean has been spending most of the time in his bedroom without coming out. Sam knows better than to ask him outright though because they both know Dean would just say he’s fine. He’s never had this problem before. He’s wasn’t ever the most popular kid at school, but he always had friends. Back in Kansas he had the same set of friends from elementary school all the way up through high school. He even tried calling them earlier this week just to have _someone_ to talk to, but it felt so weird hearing about their lives and how different they are from his new one.

Dean doesn’t notice that he’s been staring at the clock on the microwave for a full ten minutes, until he hears his father’s thumping footsteps come down the stairs. Great, he’s been drinking again. He hasn’t been doing much else since they moved in, and there’s only so many times Dean can cover for him before the Novaks figure it out. What’s the point in Dean trying to make friends when they’ll likely get kicked out soon anyways?

He grabs some leftovers from the fridge to heat up for his lunch. He’s watching the leftovers spin around in the microwave when his father comes into the kitchen and opens the fridge looking for his beer. Of course Dean had thrown it all out last time John was passed out, but his dad didn’t know that.

“Where’s my beer?” John slurs. How is the man slurring already? It’s barely eleven.

“I haven’t seen it,” Dean mumbles. He takes his unappetizing lunch out of the microwave and stirs it with his spoon to make sure it’s evenly heated through. “Hey Dad?”

“Hmph.”

“When do you start work for Mr. Novak?” Dean tries to ask it casually so he doesn’t piss John off.

“He said I could have time to get us settled in here before I start.” John starts rifling through the cupboards and refrigerator looking for his stash of alcohol.

“Dad, I’ve gotten us settled. I’ve gotten us unpacked. I make sure Sammy gets to school on time and does his homework before he plays video games. I make sure he’s fed. I make sure he gets to sleep at a decent hour. I’ve gotten us settled!” He can’t help himself from starting to raise his voice. It’s just so frustrating! It’s always the same excuses, and Dean is tired of it. He’s tired of having to take care of his twelve year old brother when he can barely take care of himself.

“Are you trying to say I’m not being a good father?” John slams the refrigerator door closed and turns to face him. His face is red, and even though his eyes are unfocused, he is scary like this. Dean takes a few steps back to put some more distance between the two of them.

“I’m saying that we need you to take care of yourself so you can take care of us,” Dean speaks slowly to try and calm John down. “We need you to start working for Mr. Novak because we’re running out of money for groceries and other things we need. We can’t ask them for more money when they’re already letting us stay here without paying rent, and he’s giving you a job.”

John stares at him for a moment, swaying slightly on his feet. He’s still holding an empty bottle of Jack in his hand. “You ungrateful piece of shit!” He throws the bottle, and Dean has to jump out of the way. It smashes against the wall, and Dean feels a shard of glass slice open his arm. “You think I don’t take care of you? Maybe if you weren’t so difficult to handle, it wouldn’t be a problem! Ask yourself, Dean, why is it that Sammy is entering science fairs at eleven years old, when you’d likely be in juvie right now for stealing if we hadn’t come here?”

Dean wants to say that the reason he had to steal in the first place was because John drank and gambled away all of their money, but the words stick in his throat. He’s always known that Sam is the better of the two of them. That’s why he does everything he can to take care of him and support him. He’s the one with a bright future ahead of him, not Dean. He knows deep down his dad is right, so he stays quiet.

“That’s what I fucking thought,” John staggers forward and shakes his finger in Dean’s face. “Now get the fuck out of here!”

Dean immediately turns and runs for the front door, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat. He can feel his eyes brimming with tears, but he can’t let them out. He feels the usual shame and guilt rear their heads, and he doesn’t have the energy to try and fight it anymore. He opens up the front door and almost runs into Castiel who is standing outside with a concerned look on his face. He must’ve heard the commotion from inside, but why is he even here in the first place?

Dean makes sure to close the door behind him before he turns to face Castiel. The other boy looks very uncomfortable like he has no idea how he ended up in this situation or how to handle it. Come to think of it, Castiel probably hasn’t ever had his parents truly raise their voices or get violent with him. What must that be like?

“What are you looking at?” Dean is tired of him staring at him constantly. He treats him like shit and still has the nerve to stare at him like some part of him cares, and that’s what Dean can’t handle. It’s confusing.

“I’m—" Castiel starts, but Dean can’t let him finish. He doesn’t want to hear Castiel say he’s sorry. He doesn’t want his pity. He doesn’t want to let him off the hook for putting him through hell since the moment they met.

“Stop,” Dean interrupts him. “Just leave, Cas.” He doesn’t say it harshly because he doesn’t have the energy to be angry.

“Dean…”

“Seriously, just go.” Dean sits down on the porch and looks down at the ground. He can tell Castiel doesn’t leave right away, but he also doesn’t try to say anything more. Eventually Dean hears his footsteps on the gravel as he walks back towards his house.

Dean stays out on the porch not moving at all as the sun sets and it gets dark. Thankfully Sam is over at a friend’s house tonight, so he didn’t have to witness any of this. It’s embarrassing enough that Castiel heard some of it. He already thinks Dean’s family are poor, country bumpkins. Might as well add alcoholic and abusive to the list.

Eventually the mosquitoes force him to go inside. John isn’t anywhere to be seen, so he’s probably passed out again in his room. Dean goes up to his bedroom and lays down, but isn’t able to fall asleep. He realizes that he forgot to make the most important wish this morning. He forgot to wish that he could be literally anywhere but here.

Sunday, September 20

10:45am

* * *

Anna Milton and Castiel trot along Seaside Trail, which he’s beginning to think of as _their_ trail. This is the third time they’ve come out here, and after how well last time went, he’s excited for the possibilities today might bring. They ride through the narrow part of the trail in comfortable silence, with Castiel following behind Anna’s horse again. As he looks up at the trees covering the trail in a cool shade, he thinks back to what he overheard yesterday when he’d been walking to the guesthouse.

He didn’t know what he was even doing there in the first place. He’d been walking around the property to get some fresh air and somehow his feet had drifted towards where he knew Dean would be. Similarly to how his thoughts always seem to drift to the other boy without his permission.

Hearing Mr. Winchester shout like that at his son had been scary. He’s never heard an adult raise their voice like that, especially not at their own child. Obviously he knows some parents are abusive or drink too much, but he’s never witnessed it in person. He was about to run back to the main house to go get his dad when Dean had stumbled out of the house, his right arm all bloody.

Seeing the sadness and exhaustion in Dean’s usually lively eyes had scared him even more than hearing Mr. Winchester yelling. In that moment, all of this petty fighting started to seem really pointless. In that moment, he’d wanted nothing more than to apologize and pull the other boy into a hug to try and comfort him in any way he could. Of course Dean hadn’t wanted that. Why would he? He can probably barely stand to look at Castiel after everything he’s put him through.

“Come on, slowpoke!” Anna yells back at him. While he’d been thinking about yesterday, he hadn’t noticed Anna start to pick up the pace. He gives Midnight a quick tap on his flanks to switch into a trot. He catches up to her when they reach the opening to the beach. Anna steps down off of her horse and grabs the reins. Castiel does the same, and they lead their horses over to the post that’s there for people who want to spend time on the beach after a ride.

“I thought we could have a picnic,” Anna explains when she sees Castiel’s look of confusion. She pulls out a little basket that she’d been balancing behind her saddle. He’d wondered what that was.

He checks the time on his phone. It’s almost eleven. He’s supposed to be back at the house by noon because he’d promised the boys an afternoon of poolside fun, but he should have a little time left to hang out with Anna. He’s found that he really enjoys her company. She’s super sweet and easy to talk to.

She hands him a blanket to set up on the sand and goes to work setting up the food. It looks like she’s brought a fruit salad and some mini-sandwiches. “Hope this is good,” she says nervously.

“It looks amazing,” he smiles at her before taking a bite of one of the sandwiches. They watch the tide as it comes in, and with it comes a cool breeze. Castiel has always loved the cool wind that comes in off the water and watches as it whips Anna’s hair around her face. She tries to get control of her hair by grabbing onto it, but the wind keeps messing it up. They both start laughing, but Castiel can tell by the slight pink tinge on Anna’s cheeks that she’s embarrassed.

He takes off his navy baseball cap and waits for a break in the wind to reach over and gently tuck a flyaway piece of her hair behind her ear. Then he puts his hat on her head, admiring the way it looks against her colorful hair. Her cheeks are still pink, but now she’s smiling softly up at him. He realizes how closely they’re sitting to each other, so he drops the hand that’s still holding onto his hat and gently trails it across her cheek before sitting back to get some space between them.

“Thanks,” she whispers shyly. “I’ll give it back to you when we get back.”

“It’s okay, you can keep it,” he says and realizes that he quite likes the idea of her wearing his hat around her school. Now he understands why couples always exchange clothes in romantic movies. In a cheesy way it feels like he’s given her a piece of him, and by the way she never stops smiling, he assumes she feels the same way about it.

Sunday, September 20

11:50am

* * *

It’s not even noon yet, but it’s really hot today. Obviously summers in Maine don’t get nearly hot as it gets down in Kansas. Most houses and buildings around here don’t even have air conditioning. The changing tides usually bring a nice cool breeze with them, and there are only a couple months out of the year that would even need AC.

Dean checks the new app he got to help him keep track of the changing tides. Everything in this town is pretty close to the ocean, but this property isn’t actually on the water so it takes a bit longer for the nice breeze to reach them. It looks like the tide should be coming in now, so it’ll probably take an hour at least for things to noticeably cool down. He decides this would be the perfect opportunity for him to go check out the nice pool behind the main house. The Novaks have made it clear to them that they can feel free to use any of features on their property including the pool, tennis courts, or gazebos.

He changes into an old pair of shorts since he doesn’t own a swimsuit and heads out to the pool. He figures it would be a perfect time for a quick dip because nobody is here, but when he gets to the pool he sees the Novaks' maid, Hester, setting up a table with lots of snack foods on it. He sees a platter of mini-sandwiches, macaroni salad, some bowls of cold soup, and a plate of brownies and cookies. It looks like she’s setting up for some sort of party. Suddenly Dean doesn’t feel like swimming anymore.

“What’s going on?” He asks her.

“Castiel is having a pool party.” Dean can see beads of sweat on the woman’s face as she sets up the silverware.

He hears the pool gate click open and looks up to see Crowley, Gabriel, and Balthazar walk in wearing bathing suits and carrying towels. They don’t spare him a single glance as they walk over to the deck chairs on the other side of the pool. Gabriel pulls two of the chairs over to a third and pushes them together so they can all pile on in a tangled mess of limbs.

“Hey Dean,” Crowley waves. “Nice shorts.”

It’s the first time any of them have so much as looked at him in almost two weeks. He knows by now that what Crowley said isn’t meant as a compliment though. He looks up to make sure Hester isn’t around and then flips Crowley the bird without looking over at him. He hears Crowley gasp in shock, but Gabriel and Balthazar burst out laughing.

“Where do you think he is this time?” Crowley asks once they stop laughing.

“What?” Dean replies, but then realizes they’re back in their tangle and aren’t paying attention to him anymore.

“Wherever he is, I’m sure it has everything to do with Anna,” Balthazar says bitterly. “Oh, I’m sorry, Anna _Milton_.” He takes out a pair of sunglasses and puts them on. “I’m so tired of having to say her full name.”

“Why does he even bother having us all come over if he’s gonna ditch to go hang out with Annamilton?” Gabriel says her name blended together so it sounds like one. The other boys laugh.

Dean feels that jumbling of nerves in his stomach that he’s quickly become used to. It happens every time he’s around Castiel particularly, but also any of the boys in his crew. “I hate to interrupt, but would it kill you to have some fun while you wait for him?”

“With you?” Crowley asks. “It might.” The boys laugh again, and Dean just rolls his eyes before running and launching himself into the air. He lands in a perfect cannonball that creates a big enough wave to splash the boys. Balthazar shrieks, but Gabriel laughs. He even sees the beginnings of a smile on Crowley’s face.

“Oops,” Gabriel feigns surprise as he ‘accidentally’ shoves Crowley into the pool. “Dean, you’re not the only one who can cannonball.” He runs to the edge of the pool, but slips at the last second and falls awkwardly into the water. Even Dean laughs this time.

Balthazar turns on the radio by the side of the pool, and the same Top 40 playlist that had been playing at the sleepover blasts out from the speakers. He jumps into the pool at the perfect moment to splash all of them. Dean doesn’t even care that he hates this music. Right now he loves the feeling of the thumping bass in his veins. He’s so happy his teeth start chattering.

The other boys are splashing around the pool singing as loud as they can when they notice Castiel standing on the side of the pool with his arms crossed. The laughter fades fast. Balthazar jumps out of the pool and turns the music off.

“Where were you? You’re late,” Crowley manages to artfully mask his disappointment behind concern.

“I know, I’m so sorry,” Castiel says and walks over to sit down on one of the deck chairs. “We tried out a new trail today and got lost. If Anna wasn’t a girl scout, I don’t know if we would’ve made it out of there.” The boys go over to him in concern, choosing to ignore his obvious bluff. Dean stays in the pool, wondering how it’s possible that Castiel not only managed to immediately destroy the fun mood they were cultivating, but then also got them to feel sorry for _him_ when _he_ was the one who was late in the first place. As much as he might hate the guy, Dean has to admit he’s a master manipulator. Not that that’s a good thing.

Castiel walks over the buffet table and starts helping himself to the snacks that were laid out. Crowley, Balthazar, and Gabriel do the same. Dean isn’t invited to join them, so he gets out of the pool and starts drying off, trying to make himself invisible.

“What were you guys laughing about with Leechy Dean?” Castiel asks loudly enough that Dean can hear him.

“We were laughing cause he had a massive booger hanging out of his nose,” Crowley lies and sends quick looks to others to make sure they play along. They all nod, and Castiel goes back to grabbing food. Even though Dean knows they’re trying to cover themselves, he still checks his nose for boogers just in case.

He watches Castiel lean in to Balthazar’s side and whisper something in his ear. Balthazar grabs the salt shaker from the table and walks over to Dean where he's sitting on the side of the pool with his feet in the water. Balthazar has no emotion on his face when he dumps the salt shaker open all over Dean’s wet shoulders.

“What are you doing?” Dean gets up and tries to wipe the salt off, but it sticks to his skin.

“Salt gets rid of leeches,” Balthazar explains. Castiel watches from the side with a satisfied grin on his face.

Crowley slaps a piece of fish on his back. “So does smoked salmon,” he laughs.

“Nothing works better than gazpacho,” Gabriel says as he pours cold soup directly over Dean’s head.

“Careful, Gabriel,” Castiel says in mock concern. “You don’t want to ruin his one pair of shorts.”

Dean is furious, but he also feels his eyes tingling which usually means he’s about to cry. He wants to yell or come up with a witty comeback, but he knows that if he opens his mouth right now there’s about a fifty percent chance a sob will come out instead. He doesn’t want to give them the satisfaction, so he tries to keep his face devoid of emotions as he gets up and walks out the gate. He holds his head high and doesn’t bother even reaching up to pull the chunk of green pepper off of his cheek.

Sunday, September 20

7:30pm

* * *

That evening, Dean sits up in his bedroom with the lights off. The sun is starting to set earlier each night which adds to his loneliness. Earlier at the pool, he’d let himself begin to hope that he and the boys could maybe be friends. They’d all had fun together until Castiel came back. Dean had thought things were going to improve after that embarrassing moment when Castiel had overheard John yelling at him, but apparently not.

He’s tired of getting walked all over by this boy. He’s tired of giving him the upper hand. Dean knows he needs to find some way to get him back for what happened earlier today. He looks over at the main house, and since their windows face each other’s, he can see Castiel inside his room brushing and talking to his cat, Angel. From here Castiel looks like a normal, albeit very beautiful, teenage boy, not the monster Dean knows he is.

He watches as Castiel talks to someone he can’t see from this angle, probably one of his parents. Then the light turns off in his room. A couple minutes later, he sees Castiel and Mr. Novak leave the house to go on their nightly walk. This is his chance. Dean knows their walks last about twenty minutes, which means he’ll have enough time if he hurries. He crawls out of his window and quietly sneaks over to the main house. He knocks on the front door, and Naomi answers it. “Hi, Mrs. Novak. Can I run up to Castiel’s room to borrow a book? He said it’d be okay.”

“Sure, sweetheart,” Naomi smiles at him. Dean can hardly believe he’s actually about to sneak into Castiel’s room. He has no idea what he’s going to do once he gets there, but just the fact that he’s entering without Castiel’s permission is exciting in itself.

It takes him a few minutes to find Castiel’s room since he’d only been in it the one time. When he gets inside and closes the door, he hears a sound and is so scared of getting caught that he doesn’t even think of trying to hide. He hears the noise again and realizes that it’s coming from Castiel’s computer. Someone must be sending him a message.

He sits down at Castiel’s desk and opens up the app they use for instant messaging. He clicks on the profile of a person named KingOfHell. The profile picture shows Crowley wearing a pair of devil horns obviously made for a costume. How fitting. He certainly acts like the devil.

**KingOfHell: What are you up to?**

Dean smiles. He can’t believe such a perfect opportunity had just presented itself like this. He gets up and paces around while trying to think of how he can use this to his advantage. He presses his ear up to Castiel’s closed door to make sure he can’t hear anyone coming down the hallway.

**CassieBee: Usual. You?**

Dean hits enter, trying not to laugh at Castiel’s screen name. It must have some sort of meaning to the group.

**KingOfHell: Bout to do some online shopping. Wanna do it together? I’ll call you**

**CassieBee: Nah, I’m going to hang out @ Dean’s rn. Maybe watch some movies or something. He’s actually really fun! Gotta go!**

**KingOfHell: seriously???**

**CassieBee: Yeah!**

**CassieBee: oh btw let’s all wear ripped jeans and plaid flannel button downs tomorrow. Tell G &B!**

**KingOfHell: SERIOUSLY?!?!?**

**CassieBee: Totally! See you tomorrow!!**

Dean makes sure to leave the computer and mouse in the exact same positions he found them in. Then he leaves Castiel’s room just as Naomi is walking up the stairs. He thanks her and heads back across the yard to the guest house as fast as he can. He can’t wait to see the look on Castiel’s face in the morning!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dean's right, sometimes you have to fight fire with fire ;)


	5. For Never Leaving Well Enough Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel turns his steely blue eyes on Dean, hoping to use his gift for intimidating stare-downs to get some answers from the other boy. Dean gives away absolutely nothing, but flashes him a warm smile. A smile after everything they’d done to him yesterday at the pool? Castiel’s eyes narrow further. Something isn’t adding up here.

Monday, September 21

8:07am

* * *

Castiel and Dean sit quietly in the car while they wait for Crowley to join them. While he waits, Castiel adjusts the red tie he’d picked out for today. It pairs nicely with the black vest he’s wearing. He decided to take a page out of Crowley’s book with his outfit today, so he hopes Crowley isn’t wearing something too similar. Of course Dean is wearing the same rancher-inspired outfit he always wears. This time it’s a red flannel button-up with ripped light-wash jeans.

“Oh. My. God.” Castiel exclaims when Crowley finally comes out through his gates. Inias and Dean both look up to see what he’s looking at. Crowley saunters towards the car at his usual slow pace. He likes to make people wait for him because he thinks he’s worth it. It’s always annoyed Castiel, who prefers to walk quickly, but he does respect Crowley’s reasoning.

He’s wearing dark wash jeans that have a slight tear on the right knee and a forest green flannel shirt. Castiel can’t believe what he’s seeing. He’s known Crowley his entire life, and he’s NEVER seen him wear jeans.

“What are you wearing?” Crowley asks Castiel as he steps into the car.

“You’re asking _me_?” Castiel’s voice betrays his shock. He knows there has to be a logical explanation for this, but for the life of him he can’t come up with any. How in the hell had Dean managed to wear the same horrible outfit as Crowley? Or maybe the better question was, why is Crowley wearing the same awful outfit as Dean?

Castiel turns his steely blue eyes on Dean, hoping to use his gift for intimidating stare-downs to get some answers from the other boy. Dean gives away absolutely nothing, but flashes him a warm smile. A smile after everything they’d done to him yesterday at the pool? Castiel’s eyes narrow further. Something isn’t adding up here.

When they reach Gabriel’s house, things get even worse. Gabe steps into the car wearing ripped jeans and a blue flannel shirt. Unlike Crowley, Gabriel wears jeans a lot, but Castiel has never seen him wear flannel. Then when they pick up Balthazar, he’s wearing a pretty flamboyant purple flannel with jeans. Castiel looks down at his plain black outfit. The only pop of color he’s wearing comes from his red tie.

“I feel like I’m sitting in a box of colored pencils,” he grumbles.

“What happened to your outfit?” Balthazar asks him.

Castiel thinks for a minute. He’s not sure how this happened, but he definitely doesn’t want to appear to be on the outside of things. “I spilled my cereal right before I left so I had to change,” he fibs. He hears Dean stifle a chuckle next to him and turns around to glare at him. Again Dean gives him an innocent smile. He did this. Castiel just doesn’t know how.

“Dean, I have something for you,” Crowley says. He digs through his backpack, pulls out a cellphone, and hands it to Dean. “It’s my dad’s old phone, but it still works.”

“Really?” Dean leans forward, probably to see whether Crowley is serious or not before he takes it. “Thanks!” _Is Castiel living in a parallel dimension? What the hell is going on this morning?_

“I put all of our numbers in there for you,” Crowley says with a smile.

“What about the bill?” Dean asks.

“Don’t worry about it! My dad’s company pays for everything, and he won’t notice.”

“Here’s an invitation to my birthday party next week,” Gabriel hands Dean one of his fancy birthday party invites. “It’s going to be at this super cool hotel in Bar Harbor and some of the cast of Dr. Sexy M.D. will be there.”

Castiel pulls his homework assignment for first period out of his bag and glances over his answers to check them. Right now it’s the only thing that makes sense. He hears the rest of the boys talking excitedly about Gabriel’s party for the rest of the drive, but he doesn’t pay attention.

When Inias pulls into the carpool drop-off, Castiel looks around to see if any of the other students are wearing cowboy clothes. Everyone looks the same as normal except for the four boys in the car with him. He knows for sure now that this had to have been an inside job. They step out of the car, and everybody starts looking at them funny. For the first time ever, Castiel looks like an outsider. He wonders if everyone staring at them right now is thinking that the boys must like Dean now more than him. He knows he’d be thinking that.

“Dean, I’ll save you a seat in algebra,” Balthazar says excitedly. “Unless you get there first, then you can save a seat for me.”

The warning bell rings, and everyone rushes off in different directions to get to their first class leaving Castiel standing in the hallway by himself. He wishes he hadn’t bothered getting out of bed this morning.

Wednesday, September 23

7:55pm

* * *

Since the flannel incident of Monday, all over school Dean has started seeing more and more boys wearing flannel. Surprisingly it’s also somehow spread over to the girls’ school. As they were leaving yesterday he saw a group of girls all wearing brightly colored flannel shirts. Dean could not believe he was responsible for this trend! If only they knew.

He sits in his bedroom waiting for Castiel and Mr. Novak to head out on their nightly walk. All day he’d thought about what he would message Crowley, Gabriel, and Balthazar when he got the chance to sneak into Castiel’s bedroom. What should he tell them to wear next? Who should he tell them to befriend? What gossip would he find out from them?

He knows he's taking an insane risk sneaking into Castiel’s bedroom, impersonating him, and telling his friends what to do. He knows he’d get in massive trouble if he ever got found out. And he knows what he's doing is wrong and borders on “mean”, but hadn’t they been mean to him first? Don't they deserve a taste of their own medicine?

His rationalizations for his poor behavior are interrupted by the sound of his new cellphone ringing. He checks the caller ID. It’s Crowley.

“Hey, Crowley,” he answers, trying to make his voice sound confident. “What are you up to?”

“Trying on some old clothes to see what I want to keep and what I want my mom to get rid of.”

“How old are they?”

“About a year.” Dean didn’t realize clothes were like eggs or meat and that they could go bad. He’s always worn his clothes until he either grew out of them or there were too many rips and holes to warrant trying to patch them up. He tries to contain his shock while he listens to Crowley talk about what he’s going to keep and what he’s going to let his mom give away to the “help.”

He sees the light turn off in Castiel’s room and knows he needs to act fast if he’s going to have time to get in and out before he gets back from his walk. “Crowley, can I call you back in like fifteen minutes? I have to help my dad with something.”

“Sure, but before I forget,” he says, “I called to see if you’d like to go shopping with me for something to wear to Gabriel’s birthday party.”

“Of course!” Dean replies. He decides he’ll worry about where he’s going to find the money later. For now he’s just glad he’s being invited. He hangs up Mr. MacLeod’s cell phone and turns off his lights. It’s 8:17, and Castiel is always back by 8:30. He has one foot out his window when he feels a hand grab his other one. It’s Sam.

“Sammy, what are you doing?” Dean hisses.

“What’s it look like? Coming with you.” He replies as if it’s obvious. He’s wearing all black and posing like a ninja.

“No way,” Dean steps back inside his room. “Wait, how’d you even know where I was going?”

“I saw you sneak out the other night,” Sam explains. “I promise I won’t make any noise.” He mimes zipping his mouth closed and throwing away the key.

“It’s not your mouth making noise that I’m worried about, it’s your gangly moose feet.”

“I’ll be extra careful where I step.”

Dean looks down at the clock and sees it’s already 8:19. He’s wasting precious minutes arguing with the kid. “Okay fine, but be quiet!” He decides it would probably be best if he sneaks past Naomi this time, because he doesn’t want her to start asking why he’s always coming over when Castiel is out. They make it up to the room undetected, and Sam stands guard by the door while Dean heads directly to his computer. He gets ready to write his first message to LokiTheTrickster. That has to be Gabriel.

**CassieBee: What’s up?**

**LokiTheTrickster: Biology homework**

**CassieBee: Are you going to get your hair cut before your party?**

**LokiTheTrickster: Wasn’t planning on it. Why?**

**CassieBee: you’ve got kind of a homeless vibe going on at the moment, and I’m not sure it’s working for you.**

Dean can’t believe he’s stooping to the level of making fun of someone’s appearance. He feels the guilt rear its ugly head, but he pushes it down.

**LokiTheTrickster: Wait… what?**

**CassieBee: Just asking. Gotta run, Dean just stopped by**

**LokiTheTrickster: seriously???**

**LokiTheTrickster: Castiel?! Are you there?**

**LokiTheTrickster has signed off at 8:26pm.**

Dean closes Gabriel’s message so Castiel won’t be able to see it when he walks in. Then he leaves with Sam as quickly and quietly as they entered.

The next morning when they pick Gabriel up for school, his hair has been cut so short it’s basically a buzz cut. Dean feels slightly awful.

“Get gum stuck in your hair?” Crowley laughs when he gets into the car.

“No.” Gabriel turns to glare at Castiel. “Just trying something new.”

Thursday, September 24

8:19pm

* * *

Just like last night, Dean and Sam sneak up to Castiel’s bedroom. It makes him slightly uncomfortable how good he’s getting at this. Sam goes to watch the door again while Dean tries to think about what to tell Balthazar. He’s a bit more tricky because Dean doesn’t know much about him. He knows that he cares about his grades, which is a bit odd considering the rest of his personality. He’s not a teacher’s pet so there must be some reason he cares so much.

Dean isn’t surprised to see TheTitanicSux logged on because he’s been logged on every other night Dean has come up here. Probably doing homework.

**CassieBee: You there?**

**TheTitanicSux: Always**

**CassieBee: Homework?**

**TheTitanicSux: science project for the research fair. I NEED an A**

**CassieBee: what if you don’t get one?**

**TheTitanicSux: you don’t want to know**

**CassieBee: ???**

**TheTitanicSux: Forget it**

**CassieBee: no, tell me**

Sam motions at him to hurry up. He looks down at the clock and sees he only has about four minutes to try and wring a confession out of Balthazar.

**CassieBee: secret for a secret?**

**TheTitanicSux: no way**

**CassieBee: I promise I won’t tell anyone! I have something I’ve never told anyone before**

**TheTitanicSux: okay. You go first though**

Dean tries to think quickly of something about Castiel that he wouldn’t have told anybody else. He remembers how the first night he snuck over here Castiel had been talking to his cat before going on his walk. At the time, Dean thought it was pretty adorable, but he doubts that’s something Castiel would tell his friends. He’s probably embarrassed about it.

**CassieBee: sometimes when I’m sad or lonely I talk to Angel out loud and even though he obviously doesn’t say anything, thinking that he’s listening makes me feel a bit better.**

**TheTitanicSux: OMG!**

**TheTitanicSux: not that there’s anything wrong with that, it just caught me off guard**

**CassieBee: your turn**

**TheTitanicSux: okay, but you can’t tell!**

**CassieBee: I won’t**

**TheTitanicSux: I don’t care about my grades because I have strict parents or because I want to get into a good university. I care about my grades because I’m on a scholarship at Hancock. My parents are poor**

**CassieBee: I thought your dad was a rich art dealer…**

**TheTitanicSux: was**

**CassieBee: but you live at the Harborside Hotel…**

**TheTitanicSux: apartment building next door. Shhhhh! You better not tell**

“Dean, it’s 8:30,” Sam hisses, “we need to leave now!”

**CassieBee: gotta go**

**CassieBee has signed off at 8:30pm**

Dean knows his abrupt sign-off is probably freaking Balthazar out right now but he can’t risk getting caught. He’s honestly shocked about Balthazar’s secret, but he understands the kind of pressure in this town to fit in. When everyone around is in the top one percent, even being upper middle class comes across as poor.

Thursday, September 24

8:34pm

* * *

It’s starting to get colder on Castiel’s nightly walks with his dad. He doesn’t mind the cold much, but today was the first day he had to pull out one of his scarves from his closet. He sits down on his bed and unlaces his shoes while he finishes up the conversation he’s having with his dad.

“Dad, when I ask you what the easiest way to become famous is, don’t tell me to drop out of school and video myself doing crazy stunts on Youtube,” he laughs. “What if I took you seriously?” Castiel leans down to pet Angel who’s purring and winding around his feet.

“Then you wouldn’t be my son.” Chuck musses his hair fondly. “But in all honesty, I may be a good businessman, but I was never really popular.”

“I should’ve known.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Chuck asks in mock betrayal.

“You were friends with Mr. Winchester weren’t you?” Castiel smirks.

“Angel,” Chuck says, “Your dad is evil.” He gives the cat a few scratches behind his ears, and then chuckles to himself as he walks out the door.

Castiel hears a _ding_ sound come from his computer and recognizes it as the tone he gets when one of his friends sends him an instant message. He opens it to see it’s Balthazar.

**TheTitanicSux: PLEASE DON’T TELL ANYONE!!!!!!!**

**CassieBee: huh?**

**TheTitanicSux: I’M SERIOUS!!!!**

**CassieBee: I have no idea what you’re talking about**

**TheTitanicSux: Thanks :)**

Friday, September 25

10:40am

* * *

“Where’s Dean?” Crowley asks as they get changed for tennis. Castiel chose tennis as his gym credit because he grew up playing and was even thinking about trying out for the team since he’d heard a certain green-eyed junior is going to be trying out for the soccer team.

“How am I supposed to know?” Castiel snaps. His thoughts keep drifting to his freckled neighbor at the most inopportune times, and it doesn’t help that his friends keep bringing him up in conversation too.

“Isn’t he your new best friend?” Crowley asks bitterly.

“I’m not the one who gave him a cell phone!” He turns to glare at Balthazar. “Or asked him to sign up for tennis.”

“He gave me his old racket so I wouldn’t have to buy one,” Balthazar screeches, “what was I supposed to say?”

“Since when can’t you afford your own racket?” Castiel asks, squinting his eyes.

Balthazar stiffens, his face blushing a deep red. “That’s really nice. Thanks a lot!”

Gabriel groans as he rubs his hands over his short crop of hair. “I miss my hair,” he sighs.

“You look like an ROTC wannabe,” Castiel laughs.

“Better than looking homeless though right?” Gabriel stomps angrily over to the bleachers and sits down.

_What is happening right now?_ “Who are you guys and what did you do with my friends?”

“You mean Dean and Anna _Milton_?” Balthazar yells. He slams his locker shut, grabs his tennis racket, and runs out of the room. Crowley and Gabriel take off behind him. Castiel is once again left standing alone wondering what just happened.

He takes a deep breath and heads out to the tennis courts to find that Gabriel and Balthazar are paired up and playing against Crowley and Dean. He’s left to find his own partners to play with. He ends up pairing up with a guy named Uriel. He’s never really spoken to the guy, but he and Crowley used to call him 'Junkless' behind his back since he always used to change for gym in the bathroom stalls instead of the main locker room like everyone else. 

After tennis is over, Castiel and Uriel end up pairing up again for lunch since both of their usual friend groups have exiled them. Uriel’s friends weren’t too happy with him ditching them to play with Castiel.

He spends the rest of the day talking to various people and trying to make replacement friends. He feels like a politician desperate for votes. By the end of the day his cheeks hurt from all of his fake smiling. He knows he can get through the year with these people if he has to. He’ll have people to sit with during lunch or go to the movies with on the weekends, but it won’t be the same. He’s out of his usual comfort zone, and he hates it. He hates how his voice sounds when he talks to everyone. He wants to strangle himself every time he hears that fake laugh come out of his mouth. Nothing feels familiar. He misses how comfortable he felt with Crowley, Gabriel, and Balthazar. He misses not having to worry about how he interacts with them. Now he’s analyzing and worrying about everything that comes out of his mouth. It’s only been half a day, and he’s exhausted.

Castiel has been friends with Balthazar and Gabriel since middle school. He’s been friends with Crowley basically since birth. They’d become more than his friends, they're his brothers. Without them around, he’s going to go back to feeling like an only child. Lonely.

Right then the new foursome passes by him in the hallway without even sparing him a glance. They’d been best friends hours ago, and now everything’s changed. How could things get ruined so quickly? He knows that their sudden outburst of laughter is fake and done only to make Castiel feel like he’s missing out on some hilarious joke. Of course he knows that because he’s the one who taught them that trick. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t still hurt in his chest to see them use that tactic against him.

Castiel waits for everyone in their usual spot by the parking lot at 3:50, but they never show up. When he gets into the Range Rover alone, Inias immediately asks where the other boys are. Castiel lies and tells him that they’re in detention, and the two of them ride home in silence. They end up driving past Crowley, Balthazar, Dean, and Gabriel walking together down the road. They look like they’re taking a carefree stroll down the beach. Castiel tries to lower himself in his seat so he won’t be spotted, and he can feel Inias’s eyes on him, but thankfully he doesn’t say anything.

Once the car stops in front of their estate, he runs straight up to his room without thanking Inias for the ride. He quickly logs onto his computer, hoping one of his friends would be online, but they aren’t. They’re probably still walking home. Next he tries calling each of their cell phones individually but none of them pick up. He’s about to dial Dean’s number, but then he thinks he isn’t quite _that_ desperate yet.

He notices he has a new email from Anna Milton. He clicks it open and feels his heart-rate quicken as he waits for it to load.

**Hey C,**

**How’s it going?**

**I wanted to let you know I won’t be able to go riding for the next couple weeks.**

**Things are starting to get pretty crazy with cheer and school.**

**Anna**

All he needs now is for his parents to come tell him he’s actually adopted, and his day will be complete. A ping from his computer interrupts that depressive thought spiral. It’s Balthazar.

**TheTitanicSux: Just letting you know I have a ride for Monday so you don’t need to pick me up**

**CassieBee: What is going on????????**

**TheTitanicSux: Stop acting all innocent! I trusted you!! You said you’d keep my secret**

**CassieBee: What secret? I honestly have no clue what you’re talking about**

He dials Balthazar’s cell number and listens to it ring.

**CassieBee: it’s me, pick up**

“You have five minutes,” Balthazar answers the phone. Castiel can tell he’s pissed, but he’s glad he answered the phone to give them a chance to figure this out.

“Zar, for the last time, I have no idea what secret you’re talking about,” Castiel says calmly.

“You told me about how you talk to Angel when you’re feeling lonely and I-"

“I never told you that!” Castiel snaps. “Who told you that?”

“Last night at 8:26pm…”

“Wait-" Castiel says.

“Stop interrupting me!!!” Balthazar yells.

“No seriously, I was taking a walk with my dad at that time last night. When I sent you that message later I seriously didn’t know what secret you were talking about.” He gets up and starts pacing around his bedroom, thoughts racing a mile a minute.

“Then how do you explain the messages that were coming from _your_ computer?”

“I don’t know…” Castiel says.

“Why should I believe you?” Balthazar asks hesitantly.

“Because if I was lying you know I would’ve come up with a way better excuse than that.”

Balthazar laughs. “That’s true.”

They both go silent for a moment while they try to figure out what possible explanation there could be. Then it hits Castiel like a train. “Zar, I think I know what happened.” If a war is what Dean wants, that's what he's going to get. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying me updating so quickly lol  
> I'm having way too much fun with this one, and I can't seem to stop writing. Not that that's a bad thing


	6. Second, Third, and Hundredth Chances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Castiel does look kind of pathetic sitting by himself, but then again Dean was the one who had been ignored in the hallways, banished from sleepovers, and had food dumped all over him. When he thinks about it like that, he doesn’t feel like such a horrible person. He's the victim in this, so that means he can retaliate in whatever way he wants… doesn’t it?

Friday, September 25

6:55pm

* * *

After walking Gabriel and Balthazar home, Dean and Crowley had walked to the nearby department store to go shopping for something for Gabriel’s party. It took them a couple hours to find “acceptable attire” as Crowley had put it. Now they’re on the last leg of their incredibly long walk home. Crowley is currently reminiscing on a particularly nasty prank he’d played on one of the freshman, and Dean is busy thinking about his new “friends.”

He’s not stupid. He knows the other boys are only acting like his friends for two reasons: (1) Because he’d tricked them into thinking Castiel liked him, and (2) They're mad at Castiel. At this point Dean doesn’t even care. Anything is better than being constantly bullied, right? He wants to hold onto this false sense of security as long as he can. Even though he can’t help but feel guilty for putting Castiel through the same awful feelings the other boy had been putting him through for weeks.

“Thank fuck, we made it!” Crowley sighs with relief as the gates to his property come into view. He's dragging his shopping purchases along on the ground behind him.

“We must’ve walked at least five miles,” Dean groans. Thankfully, he doesn’t have to walk any further. Crowley’s driver drops him off at the Novak estate only ten minutes later. It's dark when he steps out of the MacLeod’s limo. As he walks across the property, he dares to glance up in the direction of Castiel’s window. He's sitting alone at his computer with a blank expression on his face. Dean feels his throat constrict.

Okay, so Castiel does look kind of pathetic sitting by himself, but then again Dean was the one who had been ignored in the hallways, banished from sleepovers, and had food dumped all over him. When he thinks about it like that, he doesn’t feel like such a horrible person. He's the victim in this, so that means he can retaliate in whatever way he wants… doesn’t it?

He’s just stepping in the front door when he gets bombarded by Sam. He smells something burning on the stove and looks around Sam to see John struggling with whatever he’s attempting to cook. “Where have you been?” Sam asks him accusingly.

“Went shopping with Crowley,” Dean shrugs and tries to head upstairs to deposit his purchases in his room before his dad sees him.

“What’s with your hair?” Sam asks, pointing at Dean in shock. So Crowley had suggested a brand of hair gel that he “just had to try.” Sue him!

Sam reaches up to try and touch Dean’s artfully spiked hair, but he slaps his hand away before he gets the chance. Mr. MacLeod’s phone starts ringing in his hand, and he not-so-gently shoves Sam out of his room so he can close the door and take the call.

“Dean? It’s Balthazar.”

“Sorry, I just got home.” He takes out the handful of expensive suits, ties, and dress shoes that Crowley had bought for him and arranges them in his closet.

“Where were you?” He sounds overly concerned for some reason.

“Shopping with Crowley. We were buying outfits for Gabriel's party.”

“I didn’t know you had a credit card,” Balthazar sounds like he’s trying to cover up his jealousy, and Dean knows exactly why. It’s the same reason he’d decided to give him his extra tennis racket.

“Crowley paid,” Dean explains.

“He did?”

“Doesn’t he always?” Dean laughs.

“Look, I should probably go. I’ve got a lot of homework to do.” Balthazar says. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, see ya!” Dean hangs up.

Mr. MacLeod’s cell phone rings again. This time it’s Gabriel.

“I hear you and Crowley got some great outfits for my party,” Gabriel says.

“Yeah, I don’t usually wear nice dress clothes, but Crowley said I looked good in them so I’ll take his word for it.”

“I just talked to him, and he told me you even scored some gossip credits on the way home?”

Dean panics for a moment trying to remember if he'd accidentally told Crowley about the fact that Balthazar is on a scholarship at Hancock. “I did?” he asks nervously.

“Yeah, you told him that Castiel has lonely conversations with his cat,” Gabriel laughs.

“Oh yeah, that…”

“That’s so embarrassing!” Gabriel is still laughing. “Do you think I should un-invite Castiel to my party?”

“I mean, I would,” Dean reasons. “Unless you want to listen to him constantly make fun of your haircut.”

“Definitely! Hey, Dean? Is that the only secret you know?”

“About Castiel?”

“About anyone?” For a second Dean thinks about telling Gabriel about the secret Balthazar shared with him, but he banishes that thought as quickly as it arrives. That would be cruel.

“That’s it!” Dean says, making his voice sound cheerful.

“Kay, thanks. Bye.” Gabriel says. _Click_.

“Bye,” Crowley laughs. _Click_.

“See ya,” Balthazar says. _Click_.

“Nighty night,” Castiel says. _Click_.

Dean’s mouth is open wide in shock. He feels dizzy and wonders for a second if he’s about to faint because his heart is beating so quickly. He can’t believe he was tricked by a conference call! He should’ve known to check how many people were on the call, but he hadn’t even thought about it.

How can he even go about fixing this? He’d destroyed all of the budding relationships he was making with other people at school in order to try and be friends with Castiel’s group. Now he’s gone and turned Castiel even further away from him and lost all of Castiel’s friends as a result. He can’t believe he’s going to have to go to school on Monday feeling as alone as he felt a couple weeks ago. He throws his borrowed phone against the wall as hard as he can and listens to it smash.

Friday, September 25

7:58pm

* * *

The boys stand barefoot on Crowley’s kitchen counter, straining to unhook the shiny pots and pans that are hanging neatly on their hooks. To their right is a brand new double oven, and to their left is a huge refrigerator with a built in tap for Mr. MacLeod’s home-brewed beer that he works on in his free time.

“Hurry!” Crowley hisses. “My mom will freak if she walks in to people standing barefoot on her precious counter-tops.”

Once they’ve gotten down everything they need to bake a delicious batch of vegan chocolate chip cookies, they decide it’s time to take a little break. Castiel disappears into the hallway and comes back with four gift bags. He hands the first bag to Gabriel.

“What is this?” Gabriel reaches inside, but Castiel smacks his hand.

“Wait until everyone has theirs, Gabe.”

As soon as he’s handed out the last bag, he nods for everyone to open theirs. The sound of tearing tissue-paper fills the room and then all the boys gasp in excitement.

Though Castiel doesn’t regret giving Anna his signature navy cap for a second, he realized he missed having one. He ended up buying all of the boys matching embroidered caps to wear. His is navy with a C. Crowley’s is dark crimson with a C. Gabe’s is forest green with a G, and Balthazar’s is dark purple with a B. He used everyone’s favorite colors.

“These are so amazing, Cassie,” Gabriel gushes.

“Yeah, they’re really cute,” Balthazar puts his on and smiles.

“Okay, back to work, guys!” Gabriel rummages through all the pots and pans they’d brought down, being insanely noisy about it as usual.

“Shh,” Crowley says. “You’ll wake the neighbors.” It’s a joke of course because the MacLeods’ have so much land their nearest neighbor is like two miles away.

“Speaking of neighbors,” Castiel says. “I wonder what Dean is doing right now.”

“Maybe he’s packing up and getting ready to move back to Kansas,” Crowley suggests.

“I bet he was freaked out by our call,” Castiel laughs. “I know if that had been me, I’d be looking for a new school right now.”

“Hopefully he is,” Gabriel says.

“I can’t believe he had you guys going for so long on my IMs,” Castiel says. Even though he'd been pissed when he found out what Dean had done, he couldn't lie that he was impressed at his neighbor's ingenuity.

“I can’t believe he snuck into your bedroom every night and used your computer without you catching him!” Balthazar exclaims.

“I know, it is pretty impressive.” Castiel gives a distant smile and then turns to see the other three boys staring at him like he’s gone crazy. “I mean I’m impressed he even came up with the idea. It sounds like something we’d do.”

“Can we please just get started?” Gabriel whines. “I haven’t eaten anything sweet since lunch.” The boys start making their cookies with Crowley calling out orders as ‘head baker’ and the others rushing to follow them.

By the time the cookies finish cooling, the boys rush to taste them. “These are disgusting!!” Balthazar screeches.

“I am so disappointed,” Gabe looks betrayed. But Castiel can’t stop smiling because even though it’s going to take brushing his teeth several times to get this nasty taste out of his mouth, he’s happy to have his friends back.

Tuesday, September 29

12:10pm

* * *

Dean sits down at a cafeteria table alone while he eats his lunch. He’s tired of eating in the bathroom. It’s disgusting, and someone keeps taking nasty shits while he’s sitting there. He looks over at Castiel’s table where the four boys are back together and very happy about it. Dean’s little plan had only lasted a couple days, and now he's back to being alone.

“Mind if we sit here, cher?” Benny asks. Dean looks up to see Benny flanked by Kevin and Garth.

“I don't mind.” He tries not to sound too excited.

“I’m sorry for judging you, man,” Garth says.

“Yeah we’ve all tried to befriend Castiel and his group at some point,” Kevin agrees.

Dean tries to swallow around the lump in his throat. His friends are actually forgiving him. He’s never been forgiven before. “Thanks guys. I really am sorry.”

“It’s done, cher,” Benny chuckles. “Okay moving on!” He launches into a hilarious story about a girl named Andrea he’s been trying to ask out on a date. Dean can’t stop smiling throughout the rest of their lunch period. He looks up a couple times to see that Castiel is staring at him from across the room again.

After the warning bell rings, Benny, Garth, and Kevin pack up their things, saying they’ll see him later. Dean sees Castiel and his crew walk past him towards their next classes. Balthazar stops by Dean’s table though and waits for him to pack his things and finally look up at him.

“Thank you,” Balthazar says. “Seriously, I mean it. Thanks.” He looks around to make sure nobody is listening.

“I promised, didn’t I?” Dean responds, but gives him a small smile.

“I’m actually happy I told you and not Castiel,” Balthazar says, his voice low. “There, now you have two secrets to keep.” He turns around and walks away quickly to follow his friends.

Thursday, October 1  
8:10am

* * *

“Please tell me you guys are going to the Novak charity benefit tomorrow night,” Dean says to Benny and Anna. Since he’d been exiled from Castiel’s group, the two of them have been picking him up for school.

“We go every year,” Benny says, and Dean breathes a sigh of relief. John told him that he had to go since they live on the Novaks' property and he's finally started working for them, but Dean doesn’t want to go alone. “If we can manage to avoid Castiel and his friends, we may even have a good time,” Benny continues and Dean chuckles.

“Hey, be nice,” Anna chastises from the driver’s seat. “He’s actually really nice when you get to know him.”

“I highly doubt it,” Benny says, and Dean can’t help but agree.

Anna looks back at Dean in the rear-view mirror. “The place is set up like a five-star restaurant. They have chefs serving every type of food you could possibly imagine!” She could’ve been reading straight from the dictionary, and Dean’s eyes would still be glued. If he had to say one nice thing about Castiel it would be that he has great taste in girls. Anna is absolutely stunning.

“But the best part is watching Mr. Novak get drunk and make a fool of himself,” Benny laughs.

Dean’s eyes widen. “Really?”

“Last year he tried and failed to juggle three bottles of champagne. You should’ve seen it!” Anna laughs. “He does something ridiculous every year, it’s hilarious!” Dean hates to think it, but he’s actually excited to go to the party now that he knows he has someone on his side. Maybe it will be fun after all.

Friday, October 2

6:45pm

* * *

When Castiel gets home from school, the estate is already buzzing with activity. People are unloading large tables and setting up chairs around the yard. Florists come in afterwards making sure each table has its own bouquet of flowers in the center. When he goes inside the house, he can hear caterers bickering at each other in the kitchen. Almost everyone in town will be here by 7:30, and his hands clench in nerves.

He sneaks up to his room to get ready. It's important for him to pick out the perfect outfit because this will be the first time Anna will see him outside of his riding outfits. He finally settles on a navy pin-striped vest with a dark purple tie. Balthazar would approve. By the time he’s finished getting dressed, he hears music start up from downstairs meaning the party is starting.

“Castiel,” Naomi says over the intercom. “The party is starting. Come down!”

“Be right there,” he replies. When he gets outside he immediately starts searching the huge white tent for his friends. He doesn’t find them, but he does spot Anna’s notorious red hair at one of the tables. He walks over to her, takes a deep breath, and tries to be confident.

“Hey, you!” She smiles when she spots him, and he smiles back.

“I was hoping you’d be here,” he responds, leaning closer to her so he can be heard over the music. A waiter comes over with some waters, and the two of them take them and thank him. The auction is about the start, and excited potential bidders start crowding in on them. “Want to go somewhere a bit quieter?” he asks.

“Sure!” She reaches out her hand to take his. He looks up in time to see his friends giving him huge smiles and thumbs ups. He winks at them and walks out of the tent with Anna. He leads them over to one of the gazebos. They’re far enough away from the main crowd that they’ll be able to hear each other talk without having to yell over the music.

“You look great!” Castiel compliments her. She’s wearing a dark green silk dress that clings to her in all the right places and looks great with her bright hair.

“You do too,” Anna reaches up to straighten his tie and his breath hitches as her fingers lightly graze his throat. “So…”

“Anna, I-“ He doesn’t know what he was planning on saying, but all thoughts fly out the window when Anna raises her hand to cup his cheek.

“It’s okay, Castiel,” she says softly and starts to lean in. Castiel’s brain isn’t working nearly fast enough to process this. He’s never kissed anyone before. Does he want to kiss Anna? He isn’t sure. Either way it’s too late because suddenly Anna’s lips are just there, and then they’re pressing softly against his.

He closes his eyes. Her lips are soft against his, and they’re hesitant, waiting for him to kiss her back. He tries to, he really does. His brain is screaming at him, but whatever nerves connect his thoughts to his lips aren’t working, and so he stays still. She pulls away after a second with a confused look on her face. He notices that her eyes aren’t green, and some part of his brain thinks about how wrong that is.

“I’m sorry,” she says quietly. “I thought… I’ll just go.” She gets up to leave.

“No wait,” he grabs her hand and pulls her gently so she’ll sit back down. “I really like spending time with you, Anna.”

“But you don’t like me like that,” she realizes, nodding to herself.

Castiel realizes that she’s right. He was hoping feelings would develop for her, but they haven’t. Maybe something is wrong with him. What high school boy doesn’t want to date the captain of the cheer leading squad? “I’m sorry,” he says. “Can we still be friends?”

“Of course, Castiel,” Anna smiles. “I enjoy spending time with you.” He looks down at his hands resting in his lap, feeling a mixture of relief at her words and worry that something about him is broken. “Is there someone else that you like?” She asks softly.

“What do you mean?” He asks.

She pauses for a moment like she’s trying to figure out how to say what she wants to say. “Do you have feelings for Dean?”

“What?” Castiel pales. “Why would you ask me that?”

“When I told Benny we were hanging out, he told me about how you look at Dean in the cafeteria.” Now Anna is the one looking down at her hands. “It’s okay if you do, Castiel. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

He has to get out of here. Now.

“We-we’re just neighbors,” he stutters. “I have to go.” He leaves Anna in the gazebo and heads back to the main party without looking back.

Friday, October 2

9:03pm

* * *

 _Thank god I’m wearing my work boots,_ Dean thinks to himself while he watches Castiel stumble around the yard trying to avoid the muddy areas. Benny is talking to him about how he’s planning on trying to ask Andrea out this weekend, but Dean’s not really listening. He’s more interested in what Castiel might be talking to his friends about on the other side of the dance floor. Whatever it is, they all laugh.

Dean is super glad that Benny has forgiven him and that they’re friends again, but he can’t help but wonder if he’s missing out on something more. He’d be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t still obsessed with his super attractive neighbor who happens to look extra attractive tonight. He shakes his head of that thought and tries to tune back in to his conversation with Benny.

“Do you think she’ll say yes?” Benny asks nervously.

“Of course, man!” Dean claps him on the shoulder. “How could she say no to you?”

Dean watches a group of girls nervously make their way over to where Castiel and the boys are standing. Apparently it’d taken them a while to get up the nerve to ask Castiel to dance. Dean watches him wave them off, but Gabriel and Crowley both grab two of the girls and bring them to the dance floor.

“Why doesn’t anyone ask us to dance?” Dean asks Benny in mock hurt.

“Oh Dean, would you like to dance?” Benny bats his eyelashes and holds his hand out for him to take.

“Not exactly what I had in mind, but why not?” He grabs Benny’s hand and drags him to the dance floor where they both explode into every cheesy dance move they know. Benny is a terrible dancer, but Dean has always been able to hold his own. Dean twirls into Benny’s arm, and then Benny dips him by the waist like he would a girl. When he’s upside down he catches a glimpse of Castiel watching him with an indecipherable expression on his face.

A small crowd of onlookers has formed around them to watch, and everyone is laughing at their antics. In a good way though. They both exaggerate their moves even more to keep the crowd’s attention on them until the end of the song. When the song ends, the two of them bow to the audience and they roar in applause. Dean’s worked up a mild sweat by this point, and he can tell Benny is a bit out of breath. “Well that was fun!”

The music stops then, and Naomi Novak walks up onto the stage. “Ladies and gentlemen, friends of Hancock school, on behalf of my family I’d like to welcome you to the fifth annual benefit charity auction!” She pauses for applause. “Just like every year, all the proceeds from tonight will go towards raising money for the Hancock scholarship funds.” More applause. “And when you see all the groovy items we have to bid on, trust me, you’ll be whipping out your wallets faster than a cowboy can shout ‘yippe-kai-ay’!”

Benny cracks up. “Wow, if I was Castiel I would be mortified right now.”

“Look,” Dean points to where Castiel has his head hidden in Balthazar’s shoulder, probably praying for the moment to pass. “Even popular guys have embarrassing parents.”

“Alrighty folks,” Naomi continues. “First item up for bid is this five-speed massage chair. We’ll start the bidding at $500.”

Benny sighs, “This is gonna be a long night. What do you want to do?”

“We can go up to my room and play some games if you want,” Dean suggests. “But I want to wait and see what my stuff goes for.”

“You donated something?” Benny asks in confusion. It takes a half hour to get through all the household appliances and furniture and onto the clothes. Then Naomi pulls out the suits Crowley had bought for Dean on their shopping trip. “That’s yours??” Benny asks in shock.

“Crowley bought them for me that day we were friends,” Dean chuckles.

“I can’t believe you’re getting rid of them,” Benny says. “Why?”

“Because I wanted to see that.” Dean points over towards where Crowley is standing with his arms tightly folded across his chest. He looks pissed.

“Wow he’s really mad,” Benny chuckles. “What are you going to do?”

“Depends on what he does.” Dean looks up to see Crowley storming across the dance floor towards him. Gabriel is standing next to him.

“You have no right to auction that, it’s mine!” Crowley snaps.

“Well then you better start bidding,” Dean winks at him. Benny looks like he’s about to jump in to defend his friend, but his mouth drops open. He’s not used to seeing Dean act all defiant like this and is caught off guard.

“Let’s start the bidding at $300,” Naomi says.

“Three-fifty,” someone shouts from the crowd.

“Four hundred,” another person shouts.

“Five hundred dollars,” Dean raises his hand. Benny turns to stare at him.

Nobody else bids any higher so Naomi calls Dean forward to get his outfit. After the fight, he’d decided that he should give it back Crowley. He doesn’t like being in anyone’s debt. Then he thought about it and realized if he auctioned it off, he could buy it back with the money he has saved up, and he’d have the satisfaction of embarrassing Crowley a bit in the process. Plus the money is going to a good cause.

“Here you go,” he says casually before dropping the outfit in Crowley’s surprised hands. He wishes he could stay and see what Crowley's reaction is, but he continues walking to the edge of the tent to get his breathing back to normal.

He looks around for Benny, hoping they’ll be able to leave now because there’s no way he wants to stick around after he’s one-upped Crowley in front of everyone. That would be social suicide. He finally spots Benny leaning over a table talking to an attractive girl. Benny catches his eye when the girl looks away, and Dean motions for him to come over. Benny shakes his head and mouths, “this is her!” Dean rolls his eyes, realizing that he’s on his own now.

The sound of microphone feedback pierces the air, and everyone groans. “Sorry about that, folks,” Chuck Novak slurs apologetically. He’s swaying back and forth so much, Dean’s worried he’ll fall off the stage. He’s obviously very drunk. Dean looks back over to Benny and sees him dying laughing. He and Anna hadn’t been lying when they said this happens every year.

“I’d like to call an old buddy of mine on-stage so he can help me with the next bid,” Chuck says around hiccups. “John Winchester, everybody!” _No this can’t be happening._ John stumbles up on the stage, and he’s obviously just as drunk as Chuck is. 

“Here’s what we’re gonna do,” Chuck says. “We only need a thousand more dollars until we hit our goal for tonight, so John and I are gonna sing 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall-“

“Is that how much you drank tonight?” Benny yells from the crowd. Dean sees Andrea smack him playfully on the arm.

Chuck ignores him, “And we’re not going to stop singing until we get the money.” Hands start clapping to form a beat. Everyone seems excited to see two grown men make fools of themselves on stage.

“I want my family to come up here with me,” John says. “Dean, get up here and help out your old man.” _No fucking way!_ Dean books it out of the tent before anyone can see him and ducks into an overgrown bush for cover.

“Great idea, John,” Chuck slurs over the microphone. “Castiel, where are you?” Dean peeks through the bushes and sees Castiel standing awkwardly on the dance floor. He’s bright red and shaking his head. He looks embarrassed and scared. He looks human.

Dean reaches into his pocket and pulls out Mr. MacLeod’s cell phone.

**Dean: take cover! I’m in the bushes on the south side of the tent.**

“Where’s my baby boy?” Chuck slurs again, and the crowd laughs. Dean wonders the same thing because he can’t see Castiel anymore.

**Dean: Hurry!!!**

Their dads are on eighty-nine and showing no signs of stopping soon. He would’ve gladly given them his money if he hadn’t just spent all of it buying back Crowley’s outfit.

**Castiel: Take care of Angel if I don’t make it**

**Dean: LOL**

“Move over,” Castiel says from somewhere on his left. Dean can barely see him through the darkness. “Oh my god, this is brutal,” he groans and plops down next to him in the dirt.

“I know,” Dean groans. “Parents shouldn’t be allowed near alcohol.” Castiel gives him a knowing look, and for a second Dean is embarrassed because he’d somehow forgotten about the time the other boy had seen the secret Winchester family dynamic.

His embarrassment doesn’t last long though because Castiel moves on quickly. “Or microphones,” he laughs. For a few minutes, they both sit in incredibly awkward silence while their dads continue to drunkenly sing on stage.

“What would you rather?” Dean asks to break the silence. “Join our dads on stage and sing with them, or have to hide out in the bushes all night getting bitten by ants?”

“I think you already know the answer to that,” Castiel laughs. They spend the next couple hours hiding in the bushes talking about TV shows, celebrity crushes, and anything that crosses their minds. They don’t even hear their dads cheering when someone finally puts them out of their misery at bottle seventy and pays the one thousand dollars. They finally tune back in to the party as the band says goodnight and people start to leave.

“Well I guess it’s safe to come out of hiding now,” Dean stands up and groans, stretching out his sore legs. Castiel stands up too, and then they’re both facing each other awkwardly. Even though they’d just spent two hours talking easily about everything, suddenly it’s like they have nothing to say. He thinks he notices Castiel blush somewhat, but it could be the lack of lighting out here.

“Well,” Castiel straightens his tie awkwardly. “Thanks for saving me tonight,” he says softly, looking down at his shoes which are now muddy despite how carefully he’d been walking earlier to avoid the muddy areas of the yard. “I had fun.”

_I had fun._

_I had fun._

_I had fun._

Those words play over and over in his head as Dean gets ready for bed later that night. He looks over at his desk where he’d put a picture he took of himself after the disastrous swim party. In the picture his hair is soaked with gazpacho and his cheeks are streaked with tears. He calls the picture “rock bottom,” and had taken it to remind himself that there is no universe in which he and Castiel could ever be real friends.

Only this time, Dean feels like things might finally be different. Of course he’ll have to wait and see what Monday brings. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is going to be a bit of a turning point for the boys. Not saying things will be rainbows and kittens from here on out, but there's a glimmer of hope


	7. Balancing on Breaking Branches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean may have slipped up one night and admitted to Benny in a game of Truth or Dare that he’d fantasized a couple times about kissing a certain blue-eyed boy, but that doesn’t mean he has feelings. Castiel is hot. Anybody with eyes can see that.

Friday, October 23

7:45pm

* * *

It’s been three weeks since what Castiel has decided to refer to as the 'charity benefit incident.' Things between him and Dean have thawed slightly during that time. They haven’t really interacted much, but they’re also not going out of their ways to sabotage each other anymore. His mother is apparently still trying to sabotage him though. Thanks to her meddling, he’s being forced to sit in between Dean and his brother Sam at Chuck’s birthday dinner.

After they finish singing happy birthday, Castiel tries not to laugh as his dad goes purple trying to blow out all forty-two candles. On his right Dean is inhaling his third piece of cake with no cares given to how many calories he’s consuming. It must be nice to have a fast metabolism. On his left Sam is listening in rapt attention as their dads reminisce on different girls they’d dated in high school and that one time they’d almost let a girl come between them. That is until Chuck met Naomi and never looked back. Naomi rolls her eyes affectionately at her husband and takes a sip of her wine.

“So Sam,” Chuck begins, “Please tell me you haven’t inherited your father’s playboy ways.”

“No, but Dean has,” Sam supplies cheerfully. Castiel feels Dean stiffen next to him and then sees him shoot a glare at his brother.

“Have not,” Dean mutters. “It’s not my fault girls like me.”

“What about you, Castiel?” John asks him. “You have any of the ladies knocking at your door?” Castiel coughs on his sip of water and sees Dean turn to smirk at him. Had Dean heard about what happened between him and Anna at the charity benefit? Benny probably told him because they're best friends. He feels his face go red.

“I have my fair share,” he says quietly, and he hears a snort come from next to him.

“I have an idea,” Dean says loudly, and Castiel thinks he hears Sam mumble “here we go” under his breath, but can’t be sure if he heard him correctly. “I bet you that I can kiss more people than you can in the next month.”

Castiel’s mouth drops open. He’s only kissed one person in his life, and that hadn’t exactly gone well. Although Anna has been even more supportive about it than he’d originally thought she would be. They still hang out almost every weekend, and he really enjoys her company. Still, he isn’t the kind of person to back down on a bet, especially when it comes from his infuriating neighbor.

“Alright, but for it to count, it has to be on the lips and the other person has to make the move,” Castiel says. Dean raises his eyebrows marginally. “It’s easy to lean in and plant one on someone unsuspectingly, and this will keep you from doing that.” Castiel smirks, knowing that the way he phrased it implies that Dean is pushy and won’t be able to win if he has to get girls to make the first move. Then again Castiel isn’t exactly Mr. Confident, so he isn’t sure why he's going along with this.

“Fine,” Dean sticks out his chin in defiance. “Whoever gets more kisses by the end of the month has to wear the other person’s clothes for a week.”

Castiel’s eyes widen in horror at the thought of having to dress like a lumberjack for a week. He shakes his head. “Not good enough, you’d be lucky to get to wear my clothes. That would only be a punishment for me.”

“Hey, guys,” Naomi says in the same voice she uses in the courtroom. “We’re supposed to be having fun! This is a party.”

He and Dean are both standing up facing each other at this point. Sam looks in between the two of them trying to stifle his laughter. Castiel isn’t sure what’s so funny, but he hates being on the outside of anything, even if that something is an inside joke between Dean and his little brother. “What are you laughing at, you gangly dork?”

“Castiel!” Chuck yells and then looks apologetically at John who waves him off. Sam just bursts out laughing, not feeling insulted in the slightest. Castiel assumes he probably hears worse daily from his brother.

“Shut up, Sammy,” Dean growls at him, but Sam just starts howling in laughter now. He ends up running out of the room to try and compose himself. Castiel can still hear him laughing from the living room.

“I’ve got it,” Castiel exclaims. “Loser has to wear my old snow outfit to school for a week. That includes goggles, ski mask, gloves, and hat.”

“Castiel, you’re being ridiculous,” Naomi chastises, but Dean reaches out his hand.

“Deal,” he says and grips Castiel’s hand firmly in his own. They shake over and over again because neither one wants to be the first one to bow out. Dean’s hand is just as strong and callused as he’d pictured it being, and for a second, Castiel imagines what it’d feel like to have those hands on other parts of him…

That train of thought is enough to startle him into letting go of Dean’s hand. The green-eyed boy has a smug smile on his face, and Castiel wants nothing more than to say something that’ll crush it. He can’t think of anything witty when he’s looking at those eyes though. He’s saved from having to come up with something by his phone ringing. He heads into the living room to answer it, motioning for Sam to get out of there. Sam heads back into the dining room, his laughing fit seemingly brought under control.

“Hello?” He answers. He’s pacing back and forth across the white sheepskin rug in their living room.

“Hey.” It’s Crowley. “I have news worth at least ten credits.” Ten credits is asking for a lot, and Castiel knows Crowley well enough to know he wouldn’t ask for them unless he knows whatever gossip he’s about to share is worth it. This has to be good!

“Talk to me,” Castiel sits down on one of the chairs facing the unlit fireplace.

“I was at my debate club meeting right?” Crowley begins.

“Yeah! Yeah! What?” Castiel can’t keep his foot from tapping impatiently.

“I heard Luke tell Marv that he thinks you’re on the way _out_.”

“ _Out_?” Castiel barks into the phone. “What do you mean _out_?”

“Luke said he thinks you’re slipping and doesn’t think you’re as in charge as you were last year,” Crowley informs him as if he’s just reciting the weather, not predicting Castiel’s social demise.

“What did Marv say?” Castiel tries to keep his voice from growing frantic.

“Marv agreed with Luke,” Crowley says, “But that doesn’t mean much. Marv always agrees with Luke. Anyways they came up with an idea to host a boy/girl Halloween party so everyone would start talking about _them_ and not you for a change.”

Castiel is stunned. He feels numb and in shock. _Is he a has-been? Why didn’t he see this coming? Why is he having to rely on Crowley to tell him what he should have seen himself? Why didn’t he think of hosting a boy/girl Halloween party? He thinks of everything first!_

“This can’t be happening,” he hears himself say.

“If you want, I can have my body-guard scare the idea out of him,” Crowley offers unhelpfully.

“No, I’ll do it myself,” Castiel says. “I’ll remind Luke and Marv and everyone else that I’m not slipping.” He's about to hang up when he realizes Crowley is still waiting for him to say something.

“What about my points?” Crowley asks.

_Ugh this isn’t about points, this is about pride_ , Castiel thinks. “Fine, whatever,” he says instead.

“Yes!” Crowley shouts, and then the line goes dead.

He’s about to head back into the dining room when he hears his name. He crouches to the side of the French doors so he can eavesdrop without being seen.

“I don’t know what is going on with Castiel and Dean,” Chuck says, sadly. “I figured they’d be friends by now.” Castiel peeks around the door to see Dean’s reaction, but notices that he and Sam are both gone.

“I thought they would be too,” Naomi says.

“Just because they live on the same property doesn’t mean they have to be joined at the hip,” John reasons. “It’s only been what? A little over a month? They might need more time to adjust to each other. Like territorial cats.”

“Hissing cats would be a welcome relief around here,” Naomi sighs. “I’ve done everything I can think of to get them to like each other. I’m fresh out of ideas.”

Castiel quietly tip-toes up the stairs to his bedroom to keep from being heard by his parents. His mother doesn't know it, but she'd just given him a deliciously devious idea on how to both get on his parents’ good side and also how to reclaim his status of alpha at Hancock. He can’t wait to put his plan into action.

Friday, October 23

8:34pm

* * *

Dean is sitting at the mahogany desk in his bedroom, looking towards Castiel’s dark bedroom window like he usually does. He’s talking on the phone with Benny, but he’s also looking for any signs of movement from his neighbor’s room.

“I know this is gonna sound creepy,” he says, “But I think Sam has a crush on Anna.” Every time the older red-headed girl drops Benny off at the guest house, Sam all but starts drooling. It’s kind of hilarious, but the kid is only twelve. Anna is eighteen.

“Isn’t she a little old for him?” Benny asks through a laugh.

“Not if he’s looking for a baby-sitter,” Dean laughs. He kicks off his sneakers and puts his feet up on the desk without any care about messing up the wood. None of this furniture is theirs anyways. It all belonged to Castiel’s grandmother or some other long-dead relative.

“How did Mr. Novak’s birthday party go?” Benny asks. Dean had confided in him the other day about how nervous he was. He and Castiel had sort of signed an unspoken truce a few weeks ago after the charity benefit, but it seems that truce has just expired. Dean starts filling Benny in on the bet the two of them made when he hears a _ping_ come from his computer.

**CassieBee: Are you there?**

His insides freeze. Since he knows his bedroom window faces Castiel’s from the numerous nights he’s spent staring at the other boy’s room, he quickly jumps off of his desk and turns off the light. Why did he have to open his big mouth during dinner?

“So wait,” Benny says, trying to understand. “If he gets more girls to kiss him, you have to wear his ugly snowsuit to school for a week?”

“Yup.”

“Dean, no offense because even though I don’t swing that way, I can admit you’re an attractive dude, but Castiel is going to wipe the floor with you. Do you have any idea how many girls have been fantasizing about kissing him since kindergarten? You only got here a month ago.”

“I’m tired of him looking down on me,” Dean whispers into the phone.

“And you’re sure this doesn’t have to do with that other thing?” Benny asks. Dean rolls his eyes. Benny and Anna are both under the insane impression that Dean and Castiel are holding unrequited feelings for each other, and that’s why they can’t stop fighting. Dean may have slipped up one night and admitted to Benny in a game of Truth or Dare that he’d fantasized a couple times about kissing a certain blue-eyed boy, but that doesn’t mean he has _feelings_. Castiel is hot. Anybody with eyes can see that. 

“No, definitely not,” Dean says angrily.

“Mhmm.” Benny clearly doesn’t believe him, but that’s not his fault. Though for a second Dean wonders why Anna got a similar impression from Castiel. It doesn’t really matter because even if Castiel is harboring a secret crush on him, which he obviously isn't given that he’s made his life hell since he got here, it wouldn’t matter since Dean doesn’t feel that way. “Did you take the Happiness Quiz I sent you?” Benny asks to change the subject.

“Yeah,” Dean replies from under his desk. He can’t believe he’s hiding from his neighbor and talking on a landline like a grandpa. John confiscated his cell phone after he found out it was Mr. MacLeod’s. His stupid rule is that Dean isn’t allowed to have a cellphone until he turns seventeen. When Dean had pointed out that he was going to turn seventeen in less than six months so he should be allowed to round up, it hadn’t gone over well to put it mildly. “I scored a five. Apparently that means I ‘nurture pessimism’,” he says.

“Woah, why so low?” Benny asks. “I got a perfect thirty. According to the quiz that means I have a ‘sunny personality.’ What’d you put for question three?”

Dean scrolls to the question.

**If you were to pick a word to describe your life right now, what would it be?**

  1. **Astonishing**
  2. **Confusing**
  3. **Blessed**
  4. **Unpredictable**



“2,” Dean sighs.

“3,” Benny says. “What about the next one?”

**What was the best moment of your day today?**

  1. **This morning before the alarm clock woke me up**
  2. **This evening after a long day of school**
  3. **Hanging out with a friend**
  4. **Getting back a paper with a good grade**



“I picked 3,” Benny says. Dean cringes. He’d picked ‘1’ but he tells Benny he picked ‘3’ too so he doesn’t hurt his friend’s feelings. He likes Benny and always has fun when they hang out, but he still secretly longs to be a part of Castiel’s exclusive foursome, much like everyone else in the junior class. So what if they dumped food on him a few weeks ago? He’d be willing to put that behind him if they would. Fitting in with them meant fitting in with _everyone_ , and then Dean could worry about more important things like making sure Sam focuses on his school work so he can get into a good college someday.

“What about the last one?” Benny asks. “I picked ‘3’ again.”

**The cute new girl sits next to you in class. What do you do?**

  1. **Flash her that flirtatious wink you’ve been practicing in the mirror then see what she does**
  2. **Switch schools. Girls are just distracting**
  3. **Invite her to get coffee and study with you after school**



“What does it matter? We don’t even have girls at our school!” Dean yells.

“Easy, Mr. Pessimist,” Benny teases.

“All of my friends back in Kansas keep talking about their crushes, and it’s driving me crazy! The only Hancock girl I’ve been hanging out with is Mrs. Novak!”

“Ewww,” Benny interrupts him.

Dean continues without paying attention to him. “Don’t you want that feeling where you get giddy and nervous being in the same room as your crush, and you feel like you’ll spontaneously combust if they so much as look at you?” Dean tries and fails not to think of a specific person when he says that.

“I try not to want anything,” Benny responds. “Then I’m never disappointed.”

Dean scoffs. “How is that even possible? What about Andrea?”

“It’ll be great if it goes somewhere, but I’m not bothered, brother.”

_Ding!_

**CassieBee: Answer me!!!!**

Dean tries to stay focused on his conversation with Benny, but when he peeks around the desk he can see Castiel violently switching his desk lamp on and off like a psycho to get his attention. He can’t believe he’s had to resort to hiding from Castiel in his own bedroom. How humiliating.

“I want to find a girlfriend,” Dean sighs. “Maybe then my life won’t be so depressing.”

“Are you sure a _girlfriend_ is what you want, cher?” Benny chuckles. Dean rolls his eyes. He never should’ve opened his mouth about Castiel to Benny. Of course his friend wouldn’t understand. Yes, his neighbor is insanely attractive, and Dean would do just about anything to get his hands under those tight vests he always wears, but that’s different from having a crush on the guy. “Seriously, Dean,” Benny continues. “The quiz didn’t say this, but you can’t expect someone else to make you happy. Happiness comes from within.”

“Okay, Mr. Sunshine, I’m about to puke.”

Dean looks up to see someone wearing black dress shoes standing in front of his desk and tapping their foot impatiently. His heart starts to pound. “Hey, Benny?” His voice sounds strained. “I need to go finish up this homework.” He yanks on the phone until it clatters onto the floor and he can hang it up.

“Why were you ignoring me?” Castiel asks. Dean looks up from under the desk to see him standing with his hands on his hips and snapping his gum in annoyance.

“I wasn’t ignoring you,” Dean desperately looks for an excuse Castiel would believe for why he’d be sitting under his desk. “I’ve been looking for my contact. It must’ve fallen out.”

“When did you get contacts?” Castiel asks with a smirk. “After dinner?”

“Is this about the bet?” Dean asks. “Are you mad?”

“No. I always welcome a challenge. Now get up.” He reaches down a hand to help Dean get up from under the desk. Dean tries and fails again to ignore how solid Castiel’s hand feels in his own. Once they’re standing face-to-face Castiel speaks. “Dean,” he says, his voice sugary sweet. Dean immediately puts his walls up, not trusting that voice for a second. “Remember when you said a couple weeks ago that you wish your dad hadn’t found out about your cell phone?”

“Yeah…”

“Well I know how you can get another one.” Castiel starts pacing. “All we have to do is act like we’re best friends and our parents will give us whatever we want.”

“What do you mean?”

“I overheard them talking about how badly they want us to get along sooo, all we have to do is give them what _they_ want, and then we’ll get what _we_ want.” Castiel flashes a proud smile. Dean has to admit he’s impressed. This could work, and even if it doesn’t, being fake friends with Castiel would allow him to spend more time with the guy. _That’s not pathetic at all, Winchester_ , he thinks to himself in disgust.

“Okay…”

“Look, you want a cell phone. I want a boy/girl Halloween party. Follow my lead, and we’ll both get what we want.”

Dean weighs his options. If he agrees, Castiel will be happy which could lead to a real friendship later. He’d also get a cell phone which would help his life in obvious ways. And he’d finally be able to meet some Hancock girls at the party which could lead to him getting a girlfriend. All he’s seeing are pros. So long, Mr. Pessimist!

“Okay, let’s do it!”


	8. Those Eyes Add Insult to Injury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is fine. They’ll go back to whatever tenuous friendship they’re building and forget all about this, and Castiel won’t invite him up to his room after the sun goes down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adding a note cause I made a slight tweak to an earlier chapter. I was thinking about when their birthdays would be. Dean's is obviously January 24, but I decided to make Castiel's birthday the same as Misha's, August 20th. That means Castiel in this story has already turned 17. Dean is 16, so he's a half year younger. 
> 
> Alright back to the story!

Friday, October 23

9:00pm

* * *

“Stop acting so nervous,” Castiel smacks Dean’s hand because it’s actually vibrating it’s shaking so much. “You’re acting like you’ve never lied to your dad before.”

“I lie to him a lot,” Dean hisses. “The problem is there’s a difference between your dad getting mad at you when he catches you in a lie, and my dad getting mad at me. Got it?” Castiel’s quick pace stutters for a second as he remembers the time he heard Dean’s dad drunkenly yelling at him. He’s surprised Dean so casually brought it up right now, but maybe it’s because he’s stressed.

“He’s not gonna catch us,” Castiel reassures him. “Trust me.” Dean rolls his eyes at that. Of course Dean doesn’t trust him, how could he?

They make it to the wall outside the living room where their parents have migrated to after they’d finished their dinner, and Castiel is about to step inside when Dean gently pushes him up against the wall, covering his mouth with his hand. “Shhh,” Dean whispers and then moves his hand away from his mouth. They are standing entirely too close to each other, and Castiel feels trapped with the wall behind him. He can almost feel the heat radiating off of Dean’s chest with how close they are, and he wants nothing more than to close that gap and feel the other boy pressed up against him. _What the fuck is wrong with him?_

“Umm,” Dean whispers, and his eyes widen like he hadn’t noticed the compromising position they’re standing in. He takes an exaggerated step backwards. Once Castiel can breathe again, he makes a questioning face trying to telepathically ask why they aren’t going in to talk to their parents. Dean holds up his hand, motioning for him to wait. Once their parents stop laughing at whatever unfunny joke was just made, and there’s a short gap in their conversation, Dean turns back to him.

“Okay, remember if anything I say sounds weird, just go with it.” Castiel decides now is as good a time as any and grabs Dean by the elbow to jerkily drag him into the living room. “Hey guys!” he says cheerfully, and the adults turn to look at them. Castiel tightens his grasp on Dean gently and gets momentarily distracted by the muscles he can feel twitching in his arm.

“Hey,” Dean echoes right on cue.

“Dean and I just wanted to say happy birthday to Dad one more time before we went to bed,” Castiel says with a smile.

“Y-yeah, happy birthday Mr. Novak,” Dean says. Castiel hopes the parents can’t tell how strained his voice is.

“You wanna ask them?” He turns towards Dean, knowing that the other boy isn’t going to know what he means but hoping he plays along.

“Nah, you should,” Dean smiles softly. “You’re better at asking.” Perfect.

“Thanks,” Castiel says using his most blinding smile. He hopes his parents can believe that trust and friendship flows effortlessly between the two of them. Dean’s cheeks redden slightly, so maybe he believes it as well. Or maybe he’s uncomfortable because Castiel has been staring at him for way longer than is socially acceptable at this point.

“Dean and I were talking before bed, which we’ve been doing a lot lately.” Castiel sees Dean nod in his peripheral vision. “And we were thinking about how fun it would be to have a Halloween party at the house this year.”

Castiel looks at his mom, waiting to see her reaction first because hers is the only one that matters. Naomi is in charge of all things pertaining to the house and social events, and Chuck is more than happy to let her take the wheel most of the time. He knows that if Naomi agrees to let him host the party, it’s as good as done. She takes a sip of her wine, never letting her eyes leave Castiel’s. Her stare is so intimidating when she does this! Castiel briefly wonders if his stare is half that intimidating. He hopes it is.

“Of course we wouldn’t let anyone come inside, and we’d make sure people don’t make too much of a mess,” Castiel continues. Naomi is still looking at him in that knowing way of hers. “Oh, and Dean had a great idea, wait until you hear it!”

Dean turns to look at him like a deer in the headlights. Castiel squeezes his arm again a bit more forcefully this time. “Oh that’s right,” Dean says. “We were thinking it’d be more fun if we could invite the Hancock girls to the party as well as the boys.”

“I told you he’s a player,” Sam’s voice comes from the hallway, and Dean rolls his eyes.

“We’d be co-hosting it obviously,” Castiel says to cement in his mother’s brain that this is what she’s been pushing for since the Winchesters got here. For him and Dean to be friends.

“How many people were you thinking of inviting from your grade?” Naomi asks, finally blinking. The woman has super powers. It’s impressive.

Castiel thinks for a moment. He knows if he says “everyone,” she might worry about the noise or the mess. But if he says “only some people” she’ll be worried he’s excluding people. “Everyone,” he answers, figuring that with his mother, it’s always better to include.

Naomi exchanges looks with Chuck and John. “I’m okay with it if you are,” she says.

“We’re going to have Abbadon to plan it. She’s the best party-planner around, and we only have a week until Halloween,” Castiel says.

“Just tell her to call me with the cost,” Chuck says.

“Thanks Dad!” He runs over to give his dad a hug.

“What about the other thing?” Dean asks quietly.

“Huh?” Castiel asks, still hugging his dad.

“You said you’d help me ask for a cell phone,” Dean whispers.

“Dean,” John’s tone comes across as a warning. “We’ve talked about this.”

“I know,” Dean says, looking down in defeat.

“Well, goodnight,” Castiel waves to his parents and practically skips out of the room.

He can feel Dean following right on his heels. “You completely boned me in there, man,” Dean complains.

“Come with me,” Castiel motions for him to follow. He walks up to his bedroom with Dean hot on his heels. When he gets there, he immediately goes to his closet to pull out a box with his old cellphone in it. He turns around and hands it to Dean. “Keep it on silent, and don’t let your dad see you using it.”

Dean’s eyes widen and he suddenly lunges forward to hug Castiel. He’s so shocked at first that he almost forgets he’s supposed to return the hug. His arms finally come up around Dean’s broad shoulders, and he instinctively pulls him closer. He can’t shake the feeling of rightness that he gets when he feels Dean run his hand lightly over his back. He doesn’t focus on why that is, figuring he’ll have plenty of time to worry about it later. For now he just wants to inhale Dean’s woodsy scent. He’s never been close enough to smell him, but now that he has, he doesn’t ever want to pull away. _And that’s a scary thought!_

Dean must realize at exactly the same time as he did that this hug is bordering on something he doesn’t want to analyze, and they jump apart simultaneously. Dean coughs and awkwardly rubs the back of his neck with his hand. “Umm, thanks,” he says, blushing a fierce red. Castiel is sure he looks about the same.

“It’s no big deal,” he says, trying to calm down his racing pulse. “I just got a new one, so it’s either throw it away or give it to you.”

“Well, uh thanks,” Dean says again. “I’ll just, umm, go I guess.” Before Castiel can respond, Dean’s already out the door. He stumbles over to his desk and sits his shaking legs down. _What the hell was that?_ Thirty seconds later, he sees Dean practically running across the yard to get to the guest house. At least he seems as freaked out as Castiel is. This is fine. They’ll go back to whatever tenuous friendship they’re building and forget all about this, and Castiel won’t invite him up to his room after the sun goes down.

He puts his head in his hands and wonders how a boy from Kansas was able to climb this far under his skin in a matter of a few weeks.

Saturday, October 24

11:24am

* * *

The rickety wagon at Lamoine Orchards goes over a nasty bump, startling a squeal out of Balthazar as they all try their best to keep hay from going everywhere. They’re on their annual school trip to the pumpkin patch. Castiel isn’t sure why they’re being forced to go pick out pumpkins as juniors, but he’s always down for free hot cocoa. The entire class is trying to sip their cocoa without getting it all over themselves every time the wagon goes over a bump, and Castiel plans what he’s going to say to Luke and Marv when he sees them.

Pamela, their biology teacher, is trying to shout over the sound of the wagon’s squeaky wheels. “We’ll be at the pumpkin patch in a few minutes, boys. Did you know that the English word pumpkin originated from the French word _pompon_? That translates roughly to ‘big melons’.” 

Crowley leans towards Gabriel and whispers, “That’s a nice pair of pompons Pamela has.” Even Castiel cracks up at that one.

When the wagon stops, Pamela starts explaining why pumpkins are naturally orange in color, but everyone is tuning her out by that point. Most of the boys in the grade are eagerly awaiting the moment where they can race to grab the best pumpkins.

“Someone should tell these losers that they can pick up a pumpkin at literally any store in America this week,” Castiel mutters.

“What, and ruin their fun?” Crowley puts his hand on his heart and smirks.

Once Pamela steps down out of the wagon and unlatches the gate, the majority of the class sprints towards the pumpkin patch. Dean and Benny whoop and yell as they run in the direction of the biggest pumpkins. Castiel doesn’t notice that he’s admiring Dean’s athletic legs until he sees the other three boys waiting for him on the ground. He hops down, blushing slightly.

The four of them start walking leisurely because none of them have any interest in grabbing pumpkins or getting dirty. “Guess what we’re doing for Halloween, boys,” Castiel says, breaking the silence.

“Lemme guess,” Gabriel taps his chin thoughtfully. “Eating as much candy as we can force into our stomachs without vomiting and then regretting all our choices for the next week.”

“Nope, this year we’re doing something different,” Castiel says, winking at Crowley.

“No way,” Crowley stops walking. “You’re beating Luke and Marv to the boy/girl Halloween party aren’t you?”

“You bet your ass I am,” Castiel says. The other boys all pump their fists in excitement.

“I can’t wait to see the look on that dick’s face when they find out,” Crowley laughs.

“Why wait when we can tell them right now?” Castiel starts walking towards where Luke and Marv are standing next to Michael and Uriel. They’re struggling to lift a massive pumpkin off the ground.

Luke looks like a typical jock: big muscles, light blonde hair, and blue eyes. If Castiel’s being honest, he’s the only boy outside of his crew who has a chance of taking over the alpha position at the school. That’s why it’s important for Castiel to put him in his place. It helps that they already have an audience.

“Hey Luke,” Castiel says his name the same way he’d say ‘puke.’

“Hey Castiel,” Luke says with a fake smile. “Did you come over to check out my massive pumpkin?”

“He didn’t, but I did,” Crowley says and starts kicking the pumpkin lightly with his foot.

“Hey, watch that!” Luke shouts.

“Relax,” Crowley rolls his eyes. “I’m barely touching it.” Uriel and Michael take a step back because they don’t want to get involved in what they can tell is about to develop into a show-down.

“Why are you here, Castiel?” Luke asks, annoyed. He has to admit he appreciates Luke’s desire to get to the bottom of things immediately instead of drawing them out unnecessarily.

“I’m hosting a boy/girl Halloween party this year,” Castiel grins.

“Hey, no fair,” Marv’s nasally voice whines. “That was Luke's idea!” Luke sits there stunned. “Do something,” Marv whispers to him. But before Luke can respond, there’s a loud pop.

“Oops,” Crowley feigns sincerity. “Sorry.” He’d ‘accidentally’ smashed his boot into their pumpkin, ruining it.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Marv glares at Crowley who just shrugs.

“Are you really doing the Halloween party?” Luke asks. He couldn’t care less about a stupid pumpkin.

“Yes, I am,” Castiel says and then moves forward to lean into Luke’s personal space. Even though Luke is taller than him, he knows he can be intimidating when he wants to be. “But since you think I’m, quote, ‘slipping’ and that I’m, quote, ‘not in charge like I was last year,’ don’t expect an invitation.” The four of them walk away, leaving two mortified boys and a mangled pumpkin behind them.

“So, what exactly goes on at a boy/girl party?” Gabriel asks as they head back to the wagon without pumpkins of their own.

“It’s one long make-out session,” Castiel says with a straight face. “And since everyone is going to be wearing costumes, you won’t even know who you’re making out with.”

“What?!” Balthazar sounds terrified.

“I’m just kidding,” Castiel laughs.

“Actually it is kind of like that,” Crowley muses. “I went to a boy/girl party when I was visiting my extended family in Scotland, and I kissed so many girls I lost count of them all. We basically went around in a circle and dared each other to kiss people.”

Castiel’s jaw drops, and he suddenly feels like his childhood best friend is a complete stranger. “Well, I’m not sure my mom will be okay with that, but we can try.” This would be the first time he’s ever crossed his fingers for his mother to meddle. He can feel Balthazar’s and Gabriel’s eyes on him, trying to gauge his reaction, but he doesn’t want them to see he’s also panicking so he turns away. How is he supposed to win a kissing bet with Dean when the thought of kissing someone twists his insides into knots? Maybe he should ask Crowley for help since apparently he’s the kissing expert out of the four of them.

“I say we all wear sexy costumes,” Gabriel says.

“I’m all for that,” Crowley agrees.

“I’ll need an unsexy costume if I want my parents to let me out of the house,” Balthazar sighs. Castiel still thinks it’s pretty ironic that Zar’s parents are the strictest out of all of theirs, when he’s probably the most deviant of the bunch. It was a wonder he hasn’t ended up in juvie yet.

Crowley turns his smirk to Balthazar. “Why don’t you go as a monk?”

“Only if you go as a dick,” Balthazar spits back.

“I need something sexy in case Kali comes,” Crowley says.

“When did you start crushing on Kali?” Gabriel asks.

“At the charity benefit,” Crowley responds. “I told you I liked her, didn’t I, Castiel?”

“No way,” Gabriel rolls his eyes. “I told him first.” Castiel groans. The last thing he needs is for two of his boys to start fighting over some girl they both saw once at a party. That is one advantage of Balthazar being gay. He’s never involved in this sort of drama. 

“No, Gabriel, you told me,” Balthazar chuckles.

“And you didn’t tell Castiel?” Gabriel asks. “Whatever, she danced with me all night,” he raises his voice a bit. “I figured it’d be obvious.”

“You said she kept stepping on your feet!”

“Why don’t you guys let Kali decide who she likes?” Castiel sighs in annoyance. He hates when his friends fight. He’s absolutely terrified of the group splitting up. His friends are his strength, and if he loses any of them he’s not sure what he'd do.

They hear Pamela shout to everyone that it’s time to get back to the wagon. Castiel, Crowley, and Balthazar grab the last three available pumpkins, and Gabriel is forced to pick up a bumpy gourd. That of course sets them off howling in laughter, and their little fight is a thing of the past.

They sit down at the back of the wagon again, and Castiel says, “I’ve been giving it some thought, and I think we should be Angels and Demons. Two of us can go as demons and the other two as angels.”

The other boys cheer at that idea. “I call being a demon!” Crowley says, and nobody is surprised.

“Well I’m definitely an angel,” Castiel says with a grin.

“I want to be an angel too!” Gabriel and Balthazar shout at the same time. Crowley covers his ears because he’s a drama queen. The two of them immediately start bickering, and Castiel can’t stand it.

“Stop arguing!” he shouts and then massages his temples. “You can both be angels. I’ll tell Dean he has to be a demon.”

“Wait, Dean is coming?” Balthazar says, and Castiel doesn’t miss the excitement in his voice. It makes him angry for some reason he can’t pinpoint.

“I had to tell my mom that the two of us would co-host the party in order for her to give me permission,” Castiel explains.

“Are you kidding me?” Crowley complains. “I have to be a demon with Winchester?”

“Shut up,” Castiel groans. “I’m tired of everyone fighting, just stop. Dean isn’t that bad.”

Crowley’s eyes widen comically, and Castiel can feel the others exchanging shocked glances, but he’s not in the mood to deal with it right now. He looks up towards the opposite end of the wagon and sees Benny and Dean laughing with each other. Dean happens to look up at that moment, and their eyes meet. Castiel feels like his blood is heating up, and he looks away before he can start blushing again.

Monday, October 26

3:35pm

* * *

“Am I invited to the Halloween party?” Anna asks immediately when she picks Dean and Benny up from school.

“You heard about that?” Dean asks in shock, forgetting for a second that everyone tells each other everything around here. That’s one of the disadvantages of living in a small town. Lawrence wasn’t huge by any standard, but it was bigger than here.

“I heard you and Castiel are co-hosting it,” Anna glances in the rear-view mirror and shares a loaded look with Benny. Dean rolls his eyes. He’s so tired of the two of them and their obsession with his nonexistent love life.

“The party is for juniors only, Anna,” Dean says. “But if you can manage to not say or hint anything about me and my co-host having a ‘secret love-affair’ then I’ll _think_ about giving you an invitation.”

She sticks her tongue out at him. “I’ll just get Castiel to give me one if you won’t. You know he will.” She’s right. Castiel seems like he’d do anything for Anna, and from the way Anna talks about him, the feeling is mutual. He has no idea why the two of them aren’t dating because they clearly like each other.

Benny told him that the two of them kissed at the charity benefit, but Anna wouldn’t give Benny any of the details. Obviously it hadn’t been terrible because they still hang out all the time. When Dean had initially proposed their bet, he’d expected Castiel to turn him down because of whatever he has with Anna, but it must not be serious yet.

“Don’t know why you’d want to go to a party with a bunch of juniors, but whatever floats your boat,” Dean shrugs. He turns to look out the window at the passing trees. Fall is definitely here! He's always loved watching the leaves turn colors, and the trees here really are beautiful. Everything here is beautiful. He’s always had a fascination with the ocean, which was unfortunate since he’d spent most of his life about as far away from the ocean as you can get in America. He still hasn’t gone to the beach yet, but everyone has told him the water is way too cold to swim in by now anyways.

Anna pulls into the circular drive of the Novak estate, Dean thanks her for the ride, and then waves to her and Benny as they drive away. He heads straight for the guest house to get himself a snack before his four o’clock meeting with Castiel and the party planner. He’s not entirely sure why they need to hire an expensive party planner for a high school party, but since he’s not paying for it he doesn’t really care. He’s just excited to get more time to spend with his neighbor.

Before he can knock on the front door, Naomi opens it. “Dean, I’m glad you finally made it! They’re in the sun room.” Naomi motions down the hallway to the left. Dean’s confused because he knows he’d checked the time right before heading over to the main house, and he was five minutes early.

He finds the sun room easily enough. It helps that the room has floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides, letting in an abundance of light for the many plants covering every surface. He sees a woman with bright red hair gesturing madly to Castiel while she explains something. “Castiel, you know what juxtaposition means right? Because that’s what I’m going for here. The minute you place two opposites side by side, you get something truly wonderful.”

Dean steps into the room. “You started already? I thought you said four o’clock.”

“Speaking of opposites,” Abaddon says, looking between him and Castiel in a way that makes him slightly uncomfortable.

Castiel shakes his head innocently. “I thought I said 3:45. My bad.” Dean rolls his eyes. He’s not upset because he really couldn’t care less about picking the perfect theme for a stupid party. He’s just frustrated because every time he thinks he’s gaining some sort of ground with Castiel, he pulls something like this. It’s like one step forward, five steps backwards with this guy.

Dean sits down in the chair on Abaddon’s other side, shooting Castiel a quick glare behind her back. The difference between today and a few weeks ago is that instead of glaring back, Castiel gives him a hint of a smile. Maybe they are making some progress.

“Anyways,” Abaddon continues, “Juxtaposition. When you told me your costume idea, it clicked to me immediately.” Dean sends Castiel another glare because he hadn’t been told anything about a costume idea, but the dark-haired boy puts his finger up, silently telling him to be patient. “I think the theme of your party should be Heaven and Hell!” Abaddon looks at the both of them clearly pleased with her ingenuity.

“I was telling Abaddon I had an idea that we could go as angels and demons,” Castiel explains to Dean. “I’m going to be an angel, so I figured you could be a demon.” Dean doesn’t know if Castiel was actually planning on including him originally or if he was just offering it now because he can tell he’s annoyed. Either way, it doesn’t really matter. Dean’s happy to be included at this point. “I love the Heaven and Hell idea, Abaddon,” Castiel turns to face her.

“Perfect! Now is there anything in particular you want me to plan for?” She asks while taking notes on her iPad.

“Could we do a skating rink?” he asks, and Dean’s eyes widen. He knows Castiel is a bit extra, but this seems excessive even for him.

“We can do whatever you want, honey,” she says. “Now for invitations. Do you want jack-o-lanterns or black cats?”

“Cats,” Castiel answers immediately, and Dean can’t help but smile a bit. He’s a little allergic to cats, but Castiel’s love for his cat, Angel is one of the cutest things about him. Dean’s too tired to even bother arguing with himself right now over his use of the word ‘cute’ to describe his neighbor.

“Well, I think I can do the rest of this in my office. Make sure you get those invitations out by tomorrow! The party is a week away.” Abaddon starts to pack up her supplies.

  
“Will there be candy?” Dean asks. If he was living anywhere else, he wouldn’t need to ask that question, but here where everyone is obsessed with calories and good impressions, he isn’t so sure.

Abaddon stares at him like he has lizards crawling out of his eyes. He feels Castiel put his arm around his shoulders. “Ignore him,” he says. “It’s his first event.” Dean shakes Cas’s arm off of him in annoyance. He doesn't like them acting like he's stupid. 

“What does this card say?” She holds up one of her business cards for him to read. “It says ‘professional party planner’ which means there will be enough candy to have you puking for weeks afterwards. I’ll be in touch.” She turns and walks briskly out of the sun room, her heels clicking on the wood floor with every step.

“Wow,” Dean says once she’s out of sight. “Why do you like her? She had a real Cruella Deville vibe going on.”

“But she’s a profeshhannahl pah-tee plannah,” Castiel says in a posh British accent, and Dean bursts out laughing. “She’s a total freak, but she’s the best in the business,” he says in his normal voice. “You just have to go with what she says and not ask stupid questions like if there will be candy at a _Halloween_ party.”

Dean rolls his eyes. Well that’s the end of that fun moment.

“Here’s a list of all the Hancock boys and girls in junior year.” Castiel pulls a paper out of the folder in front of him with a long list of names on it. “I’ll send invitations to the girls since none of them know you yet and also all the boys I put stars next to.” Dean can’t help but notice that the names he’s supposed to send invites to are the names Castiel and his crew consider the losers of the school. Of course.

“Who is this?” Dean points to a name with a question mark next to it.

“Oh that’s Brady Johnson,” Castiel says. “He’s completely crazy, but Crowley likes him for some reason. Nobody has seen him since school started, but knowing him, he’s probably going to show up randomly and say he was abducted by aliens or something.” He taps his lip with his pen thoughtfully. “He’ll go on my list.” He hands Dean the paper with the list of names and their contact information. “Oh, and remember to put ‘Dean Winchester’ and _your_ number on the RSVP so they know to call _you_ and not _me_ , okay?”

Later that night as Dean is filling out all of the invitations, he does exactly as he’s told. Except he spells his name _C-a-s-t-i-e-l N-o-v-a-k_ and puts a certain someone’s cell phone number on the bottom, with an extra note to “call anytime!” He knows this is going to set their friendship an extra five steps back, but he can’t resist.


	9. I Persist and Resist the Temptation to Ask You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As much as his neighbor infuriates and confuses him, Dean is impressed at how he seems to have the entire class wrapped around his long, delicate fingers. Not that Dean has been paying attention to Castiel’s hands or daydreaming about what those hands could do. That would be absurd.

Tuesday, October 27

3:20pm

* * *

As the final bell of the day rings signaling the end of class, Dean is already on the soccer field with the rest of his new teammates. Last week had been the try-outs, and he didn’t usually consider himself cocky, but he knew there was no question he’d make the varsity team. Dean’s always been athletic. It’s a part of his personality, and John has made sure to cultivate that throughout his life. “Men play sports” and all of that. Except John only considers sports like football, baseball, basketball, and soccer to be “real sports.”

John scoffed at him when he’d originally been enrolled in the tennis class for gym earlier in the year. No son of his would be caught playing a country club sport! Dean of course didn’t really care about tennis, he’d just picked it because it was the class Castiel and his crew took. Now that he's on the soccer team, he has that last period instead of tennis. Their practice runs straight through the final bell and for another hour after school ends. 

He goes through the warm-up Coach Singer is running them through mindlessly. He’s been kicking a soccer ball around from around the same time he’d learned how to run. On the field is where he fits in, and it’s the first time since moving here that he’s actually felt at home.

He’s currently paired up with a guy named Luke Morningstar for the drills. Apparently Luke’s parents own Morningstar Farms which is where Anna and Castiel ride their horses together. Luke has also been particularly friendly to Dean since he joined the team. By this point, Dean’s learned to assume that everyone here has ulterior motives for everything they do. That’s probably not a healthy mindset, but he hasn’t been proven wrong so far. He assumes Luke is being nice to him because he knows he and Castiel are neighbors. In Dean’s experience at this school so far, the only reason people talk to him is to see if he’s close with Castiel. When they find out he’s not, they go back to ignoring him. As much as his neighbor infuriates and confuses him, Dean is impressed at how he seems to have the entire class wrapped around his long, delicate fingers. Not that Dean has been paying attention to Castiel’s hands or daydreaming about what those hands could do. That would be absurd.

A soccer ball comes out of nowhere and whacks him in the head. “Son of a…”

“Language, Winchester,” Coach Singer yells from across the field. That’s what he gets for taking his eye off the ball. Literally.

“So, I heard you’re co-hosting this party with Novak,” Luke says in a way he probably thinks is casual, but Dean can tell is anything but. He doesn’t bother responding because he knows it isn’t a question. “Do you think you could score me an invite?”

“Invitations have already been sent out,” Dean says in a monotone voice as he kicks the ball back to Luke. Everyone had heard about what was now being referred to as the 'pumpkin patch incident,' and Dean wasn’t about to step on Castiel’s toes to invite some kid he doesn’t even like to the party.

“If you’re really the co-host, you should have the power to invite me,” Luke says frostily. To be fair, he has a point. Dean’s been wondering himself if his title of ‘co-host’ is name only. Like Dwight from the office being Assistant _t_ _o_ The Regional Manager.

“I never said I didn’t have the power to invite you.” Dean kicks the ball back to Luke a bit more forcefully than he intends to.

“Well then why won’t you?” Luke kicks the ball back to him with the same amount of force. “We’re teammates now.”

“Look, Luke,” Dean tries his best to be diplomatic. “This isn’t personal, but I don’t know you yet. Next time there’s a party, don’t piss off one of the people sending out the invites.” Thankfully before Luke has time to respond, Coach Singer calls them in for a huddle.

While they huddle up and listen to Coach’s plans for their training session, Dean watches as Inias pulls into the school parking lot. He sees Castiel and the boys head over to the car. Castiel looks towards the field and makes eye-contact with him. That’s been happening even more often than usual lately. It seems like whenever they’re in the same room, those blue eyes find him, and once he meets them, he can’t look away.

He flinches at the sound of the whistle blowing to signal they’re moving on to the next drill, and out of the corner of his eye, he sees Castiel get into the car and Inias pull out of the parking lot. This boy is going to be the death of him!

Tuesday, October 27

7:05pm

* * *

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Dean asks. Castiel thinks he detects a trace of fear in his voice, but he must be imagining it. After all, Dean was the one who initiated the bet in the first place.

The two of them are standing outside the gazebo, and the sun has mostly set behind them. “You’re the one who started this,” Castiel says. He doesn’t say it in a mean way, he’s just confused, but he notices Dean’s jaw clench.

“Okay,” Dean says, “Lay out your terms.”

He steps into the gazebo and motions for Dean to follow him. Inside he’s set up a big whiteboard with a black line drawn down the center of it. On the left side he's written Dean’s name, and on the right he's written his own. He also dug his old snowsuit out of the back of the closet, and it’s on display now on the side of the gazebo, an obvious reminder of what's at stake. 

“Here’s where we’ll keep track of how many kisses we each get,” Castiel feels himself blush as he says it. How’s he supposed to get people to kiss him if he can’t even say the words out loud without blushing? “The bet starts on the October 30th and will run until November 30th unless you forfeit.”

“Or unless you forfeit,” Dean winks, and he swears he feels his heart skip a beat. He’s not sure why, but Dean affects him in a way that nobody ever has before. At first he thought his fascination with his neighbor stemmed from the fact that he was from out of town, a new commodity in a town full of people he’s known his whole life, but it’s been a couple months now and his obsession has gotten worse, not better. He wants things he never knew he wanted, and he has no idea how to go about asking for them. Or if he even should.

He swallows loudly, hoping Dean can’t hear it, and tries to get back on track. “We’ve already established that kisses need to be initiated by the other party for them to count.”

“You’re speaking like a lawyer, Cas,” Dean interrupts. _Cas_. There goes his heart again.

“Sorry, I find in these situations it’s better to be overly specific so there are no arguments later.”

“In these situations?” Dean uses air quotation marks. “How many kissing bets have you participated in, Cassanova?” He winks again. _Was that a flirtation?_

“This is my first, and hopefully only, one,” Castiel says seriously and Dean chuckles. “Anyways, as I was saying: the other person initiates, it has to be longer than a peck so let’s say minimum of thirty seconds.” He sees Dean roll his eyes, but he continues anyway, “It wouldn’t be fair to ask for ‘proof’ so we’ll go on an honor system. Besides, gossip travels faster than light around here so if you’re lying, people will find out.”

“I won’t need to lie,” Dean says confidently, and that stirs something inside him that he’d rather not think about. 

“Uh, okay then,” Castiel says awkwardly. “Any questions?”

“Would you like to try one out on each other?” Dean asks with a completely straight face. “Just to get a hang of how long it should last.” Castiel thinks he can’t possibly have heard that correctly, but he replays it in his mind and realizes that he had. He’s not sure what look is on his face, but whatever it is causes something to flash across Dean’s face in response. Then he’s laughing, “I’m just kidding, Cas, jeez.”

He tries to laugh along, but something bigger than butterflies seems to be caught behind his ribs. “Well if you don’t have any changes to the terms, I think we’re good to go,” he tries to get them back on task.

“I think I’m good,” Dean says, and his voice has lost the traces of playfulness that it had before. “You?”

“I’m good,” Castiel repeats, the words feeling strange in his mouth. They shake hands and then head back to their separate houses. Later that night Castiel lays awake in bed, trying to figure out how exactly he’s going to win this bet. He knows the easiest opportunity for him to get some kisses would be at the Halloween party. His nerves swoop like they do every time he’s about to host an event, but this time with the added pressure of the bet on top of it. He has no idea how he’s going to get through the next month.

Wednesday, October 28

12:20pm

* * *

Castiel is tired of feeling Crowley pouting next to him. He’s been doing it all morning. Now with only the two of them standing in line at the cafeteria while Balthazar and Gabriel sit at their table, he feels like it’s the ideal time to figure out what’s going on.

“What’s up?” Castiel asks. Crowley looks up at him, but just shrugs. “All day you’ve looked like you’re sucking on a lemon. Come on, tell me.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t ask me to co-host the party with you,” Crowley says quietly in a rare moment of insecurity. “Especially since I’m the one who told you what Luke and Marv were planning in the first place.”

“Do you honestly think I _want_ to host this with Dean? Or that I’d ever pick him over you?” Castiel asks in disbelief, but Crowley shrugs again. “We’ve been friends since we were in diapers. You will always come first. Always.”

Crowley smiles. “I guess I was being silly. I’m just a little put out about Gabriel liking Kali, and Balthazar is obviously taking his side because he says Gabriel was talking about her way before I was, but that’s only cause I told you and not him.”

“Well there will plenty of time at the party to figure out who she likes,” Castiel says hesitantly. He isn’t particularly looking forward to watching these two fight it out over a girl, but neither one of them seems to be backing down.

After they buy their lunches, they head over to their usual table where Gabriel and Balthazar are already eating. He puts his lunch down at his usual spot and then looks over towards the table Dean always sits at with Benny, Kevin, and the scrawny kid whose name he doesn’t remember. They really need to figure out their costumes since they only have a few days left until the party.

With that decision made, Castiel heads over towards the other side of the cafeteria where Dean is. He feels almost every eye in the room turn to watch him, including the boys at his own table. “Uh, Dean would you like to come sit with us to talk about party plans?” It takes him three tries to get the sentence out, and he feels like his pride has flown out the window. Dean waits patiently for him to finish with a small smile on his face. Dean looks at his table mates in a silent question, and when they all nod with wide eyes that it’s okay for him to leave, he grabs his lunch and stands up to follow Castiel back to the other end of the cafeteria.

The room is almost completely silent now aside from the sound of their footsteps, and it’s freaking Castiel out. He pulls a chair over from the table next to theirs and sets it up on the side next to him. Since their table is only meant for four people, it’s going to be a tight squeeze. Dean sits down awkwardly and the other boys nod at him in greeting.

The silence in the room and the weight of everyone’s stares finally becomes too much to bear. “What are you looking at?” He shouts, and sees Dean jump a little in his seat from the corner of his eye. Everyone in the cafeteria goes back to eating, but he can tell it’s an act, and they’re still trying their best to eavesdrop.

He sits down in his chair, and feels his thigh touch Dean’s. He tries to scoot his chair over a bit more to get some space, but there’s no room. Dean looks at him like he’s waiting for him to yell at him too, and Castiel's really tired of seeing that look on his face. He wants to find things to say that elicit more of those small smiles that bring out the flecks of gold in his green eyes. He wants to say something funny so he can hear Dean's musical laugh. 

“Hey guys,” Dean says quietly, probably trying to alleviate some of the tension. Crowley sits directly across from them, Gabriel is on the left side of the table, and Balthazar sits across from Gabe on the right side. The three of them look up at Castiel first, silently asking if they’re allowed to respond. He gives a small nod. Dean probably doesn’t even notice, but it’s a move they’ve perfected over the years.

“Heya,” Gabriel says and then takes a huge bite of his fro-yo.

“Hi,” Crowley says quietly. He still seems upset about what they were talking about earlier, but he has perked up somewhat which is good.

Balthazar gives Dean a little smile, and Dean returns it with a wink that makes Zar blush. Castiel really wishes he’d stop doing that. He wants to be the only person who gets those winks. He coughs to bring the attention back to him.

“Okay, people, costumes,” he claps his hands. “We have three days until Halloween. Anybody have ideas?”

“Can we do crop tops?” Balthazar asks.

“You ask that every year,” Castiel pinches the bridge of his nose. “And the answer is still no.”

“I have an idea,” Dean says quietly. Castiel raises his eyebrows at him to encourage him to continue. “Everyone always does white wings for angels, but I think if you guys did black, that would make more of an impression.”

Castiel chews on his lip thoughtfully. “That’s a good idea. Crowley?”

“On it!” Crowley says, pulling his laptop out to start looking for anywhere he can get black angel wings online.

“I think we need to have something to tie our outfits together,” Gabriel says. “Since some of us are going as demons and some as angels, we all still want to look like we’re going as a group.”

“Leather pants!” Balthazar shouts, and then covers his mouth when the rest of them shush him. They don’t want people overhearing them and copying their costumes.

Castiel looks around at all the prying eyes at the tables next to theirs. He motions for them to huddle. “That’s a good idea. Black leather pants for the angels, and red leather pants for the demons,” he whispers.

“I have another idea,” Dean sounds a bit more confident this time. “If we really want to make an impression, I think we should all go shirtless. With just the leather pants and wings for the angels, tails and horns for the demons.”

“I like it,” Crowley says, impressed. “Sometimes less is more.”

“Okay, I love it, but my parents are never gonna let me wear that,” Balthazar complains.

“It’s fine, you can change at my house,” Castiel says, and Balthazar shoots him a relieved smile. “Are we all on the same page?” The other four boys nod, unable to keep the smiles off of their faces. “We are going to have the best Halloween party Hancock has ever seen, boys!” They cheer, and the rest of the cafeteria whispers, trying to figure out what they’re up to. They’ll see soon enough.

Wednesday, October 28

12:40pm

* * *

Dean has to pinch himself to make sure he’s not dreaming. Cas had actually come up to him in front of everyone and asked if he wanted to sit at his table. Their interactions have been improving recently, but still most of the time when Cas is nice to him, it’s when the two of them are alone. Dean knows it must have been a big deal for him to come over there and ask him that in front of the whole grade.

The way it took him three tries to get out that one sentence was frankly adorable. Dean wouldn’t have been able to say no to him even if he’d wanted to, which he didn’t of course. And then when they were talking about what to do for their costumes, Castiel had not only included him but also even encouraged him to share his ideas. Maybe things really are starting to change between the two of them.

After they finish coming up with costume ideas, everyone goes back to eating their lunches. Dean moves to stand up and head back over to his own table, knowing that the moment is over. As he starts moving to get up he feels Castiel’s hand come down on the leg that’s been pressed up against Cas’s this whole time. He looks up and meets Castiel’s eyes. They sitting very close together because of the table situation, not that Dean’s complaining. Cas gently squeezes his knee and smiles, which Dean takes as an invitation to stay at the table for the rest of the lunch period. He returns the smile and stays seated.

“Oh, I completely forgot!” Gabriel excitedly pulls out his phone. “Guess who’s number I got from my dad.”

“No. Way.” Balthazar’s jaw drops.

“You got Denny Drake’s number??” Dean can’t believe he’d almost forgotten Gabe’s dad is Dr. Sexy.

“Yep! Should we call him?” Gabriel asks, knowing the answer already.

“Let Zar call him,” Castiel’s deep voice rumbles from right beside him. No seventeen year old should have a voice that deep. It’s not fair.

Gabriel passes his phone to Balthazar who dials with shaky fingers. He puts it on speaker, and they all listen to it ring. Right when Dean thinks it’s going to go to voicemail, the actor who plays Denny Drake answers. Dean recognizes his voice right away.

“Uhhh,” Balthazar says when the actor asks who is calling.

Castiel grabs the phone out of Balthazar’s hands and says, “Balthazar wants to suck your dick!”

They all start laughing hysterically, and Dean barely hears the actor ask “Who is this? How did you get my number??” Balthazar grabs the phone back from Cas and hangs up, blushing fiercely.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Gabriel says when he finally manages to stop laughing. “It was worth it though.”

The bell signaling the end of lunch rings, and the boys get up to throw away their trash. Dean feels Castiel give him another squeeze on the knee as he gets up. He doesn’t know what’s gotten into him today, but he’s not complaining. That was the most fun he’s had at lunch in a long time!

Wednesday, October 28

7:12pm

* * *

“I have probably a minute before my mom calls me for dinner,” Castiel whispers. He’d just ducked into the living room to quickly call Crowley for some advice. “Remember the bet I told you about? It hasn’t even started yet, but it’s already killing me. I have no idea how I’m going to do this.” As much as he loves Gabriel and Balthazar, Crowley is the only person he ever lets himself show his insecurities to.

“Dean has you beat when it comes to confidence. Even if it’s fake confidence, which I can’t say because I don’t know him, either way it comes across the same way,” Crowley explains. “Confidence is sexy, and that’s going to help him out a lot.” Castiel groans. He is so not confident. “But,” Crowley continues. “You have a big advantage in that everyone knows who you are. Dean is the new kid. People have been lusting after you for years, and you can use that.”

“They have?” Castiel knows people want to be friends with him because he’s popular, but he thinks he would’ve noticed if people were lusting after him.

“Darling, you’ve got what they call sex appeal. The problem is you don’t know how to use it,” Crowley chuckles, but he can tell it’s not meant to be in a mean way. “I think at the Halloween party, we should play a kissing game. I can suggest it because if you suggest it, it’d probably break your rules of not being allowed to initiate kisses.”

Castiel can feel his chest constrict with anxiety. The only thing scarier than thinking about kissing multiple people is the thought of doing it in front of an audience. He knows Crowley has a point though. If he has any hope of beating Dean, he’ll have to get a lot of kisses at this party. He wishes he could get some practice before the party, but he doesn’t know anyone who would want to kiss him. That’s part of the problem with this bet.

“That’s a good idea, Crowley,” he manages to choke out. He hopes his voice doesn’t betray his absolute terror. “Hey, my mom is calling me for dinner now. Gotta go!” He hangs up. Naomi isn’t calling him for dinner, but he needed to get off of that call so he could think. He has an idea, but it’s even more insane than the thought of participating in a kissing game at the party. Hopefully he has the guts to go through with it.


	10. If One Thing Had Been Different

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He waits for Cas to say something, but he’s just standing there with fear filling up his wide blue eyes. Dean’s not sure what’s going on, but he knows he doesn’t want Cas to be scared of whatever he’s scared of.

Wednesday, October 28

8:55pm

* * *

Dean’s been too distracted to study all evening because he can’t stop thinking about what happened during lunch. Cas acted so different than usual, but not in a fake way. It was genuine. He can’t stop thinking about how close they sat next to each other, and he can almost feel a phantom hand gripping his knee. He’s definitely going crazy!

That train of thought is interrupted by his phone vibrating indicating he’s received a text message.

**Cas: You busy?**

**Dean: Nope. Why?**

**Cas: Can you meet me in the gazebo?**

Dean feels nerves spike in his stomach again. He really thinks Cas has changed, but he can’t help but worry that he’s being tricked again. It’s hard not to worry about that with the history they have.

**Dean: Uh sure. Give me a minute**

He takes a few minutes to try and get his breathing under control. When he gets to the gazebo, Castiel opens the door looking very nervous himself. This can’t be good.

Dean steps inside and closes the door behind him. The only light comes from the fairy lights strung up around the ceiling. He waits for Cas to say something, but he’s just standing there with fear filling up his wide blue eyes. Dean’s not sure what’s going on, but he knows he doesn’t want Cas to be scared of whatever he’s scared of. “What’s up, Cas?” he asks gently. He watches as Castiel opens and closes his mouth a few times, trying to make the words come out. If he wasn’t so terrified of what the other boy is about to say, he’d think it was adorable. Cas looks much like he did earlier at lunch when he’d asked Dean to come sit with him. “It’s alright, just spit it out.” He hopes his voice comes out as encouraging and not nervous.

“Y-yesterday you said,” Castiel begins quietly. He clears his throat, and his next words come out slightly more confident. “You said that we could…” He takes a slow breath. Dean is dying of curiosity, but he waits patiently for Cas to finish. “You said that we could practice?”

Dean feels like his stomach has dropped out of him. Is Cas asking what he thinks he’s asking? “You mean…”

“Yeah,” Cas is looking down at his shoes and blushing slightly, but at least he’s not visibly shaking anymore. “I’ll be honest… I don’t have any experience with this.”

“That’s okay, Cas,” Dean says and takes a step forward. “It’s not hard. I can show you, if you want.”

“Yes, please,” he says so quietly Dean can barely hear him. He can’t believe his luck! This is not what he was expecting when he got that text from Cas a few minutes ago.

Dean takes another step towards Castiel, but he takes a step back. He still looks pretty terrified. Dean keeps moving forward slowly until Castiel’s back is up against the wall of the gazebo. “Before we do this, I have to ask,” Dean says. “What about Anna?” Cas looks confused. “She’s a pretty good friend so if you and her have something going, I don’t think we should do this.”

“She’s just my friend too, Dean,” Castiel replies, perplexed. Oh. He must’ve read that wrong. He takes another small step forward so he’s fully in Castiel’s personal space now, and the other boy has nowhere to go.

“Is this okay?” He asks, his heart in his throat. Cas just nods. “Okay, you have to tell me if you don’t like it or if you want to stop.” He nods again. _Well, here goes everything._

Dean leans in slowly, gauging Castiel’s reaction as he gets closer. He seems nervous, but not frightened. That’s good. He lets his eyes drift closed, and pauses for a few seconds. The anticipation is almost as good as the real thing. He’s close enough now to feel the soft puffs of Castiel’s breath on his mouth. He knows they’re balancing on the edge of a knife, and this moment could either end up propelling them forward or it could backfire in a major way. Dean knows he should be more worried, but he’s too desperate to finally kiss Cas to care about the consequences right now.

He leans in that last inch until he can feel Castiel’s slightly chapped lips on his own. Even though he wants to deepen the kiss immediately, he keeps it soft at first because Cas still feels frozen against him. Dean raises his hands so he can finally run his fingers through that messy hair he’s been daydreaming about for months. When his hands card through Castiel’s soft hair, the other boy finally responds. With a sigh he begins to kiss Dean back.

It’s a little awkward and clumsy at first, but in some ways that makes it even better. The fact that Dean is the first person to do this with Cas lights a fire within him. He moves one hand to Cas’s jaw and slowly strokes his lightly stubbled cheek back and forth to calm him down. He feels Cas sigh again, and Dean captures it with the next kiss. As much as he wants to take things to the next level and finally get the chance to really taste Cas, he knows he needs to keep it slow. After all, they’re just practicing.

He pulls back with hooded eyes and almost loses it when he takes in Cas’s spit-slicked, pink lips. He did that. He put that blissful expression on his face. “How was that?” Dean asks, and his voice already sounds wrecked.

“Good,” Cas responds, voice just as gruff. “But maybe we could practice just one more time?”

Fuck yeah, Dean is so on board with that plan. He leans in again, this time pressing into Cas with a bit more force. He tugs lightly at Cas’s hair because he can’t get enough of the feeling of it between his fingers. Cas lets out the smallest moan which sends Dean’s blood straight south. He has to control himself from pressing his body into him. He wants to feel Castiel’s lithe body against his, but he knows that would be taking things way further than a practice kiss warrants.

Cas seems to be catching on because suddenly Dean feels fingers scratching lightly on the back of his neck. He groans in response and lets his tongue swipe across the seam of Cas’s lips. He feels the other boy open up for him, so he gently pushes his tongue in to meet Cas’s. He feels more than hears the moan that elicits. He pushes closer so their chests are pressed together, but he makes sure to keep his hips back. His first thought is that it’s weird that Cas’s chest is hard when he’s used to only kissing girls, but he immediately finds he likes it.

Dean eventually withdraws his tongue, because he’s rapidly losing control of the situation if the tightness in his pants is any indication. He feels Cas try to chase him, but there’s no way he’s going to jizz his pants after only kissing the guy. He pulls away reluctantly, but since he doesn’t want the contact to end, he noses across Cas’s jaw and towards his neck. He places a kiss to the spot right below Cas’s left ear, and hears him moan loudly in response. Those noises are making him harder than he’s ever been before. He doesn’t want it to stop. He lightly sucks on that same spot, not enough to leave a mark but enough to have Cas practically writhing against him. He’s so responsive, and it does something to him that no make-out session ever has.

Dean moves his hands down to Castiel’s hips when he starts to feel them stutter. He knows if their hips connect, it’ll all be over. He refuses to come inside his pants and be forced to make a walk of shame back to the guesthouse. Cas’s hipbones are sharper than he thought they’d be, perfect for holding on to. And he’s stopping that train of thought before it can leave the station.

He goes back to kissing Cas’s neck and lets his teeth lightly graze the skin there to see if he can get more of those sweet noises out of him. “ _Dean_ ,” Cas moans, and the sound shoots straight to his dick.

“What are you doing to me, Cas?” He groans, resting his forehead on the wall beside Cas’s head. He feels a tug on his hair, and he groans again but doesn’t move.

“One more time,” he hears Cas whisper, but as much as he wants to, he can’t. He’s holding onto the last thread of his self-control, and he knows if they touch again it’ll be all over.

“I can’t,” he whispers, thumping his head lightly against the wall in frustration.

“Why not?” Cas pulls on his hair again, forcing his head to the side so he can kiss his neck. _Where the hell did he learn that?_

“Because if you don’t stop doing that, I’m gonna blow my load,” he moans into his shoulder. He feels Cas freeze against him. He pulls back to ask what’s wrong, and sees that the terror is back on Cas’s face. _What happened? Did he take it too far?_ “Cas?”

“You should go,” Cas looks down at his feet, his cheeks flushed. Dean feels like he’s been punched. This was a mistake.

“I’m sorry, Cas,” he mumbles, almost tripping over his feet in his rush to get out of there. He thinks he hears Cas say “wait,” but he’s already halfway across the yard by that point so it might’ve been wishful thinking. He can't believe he let himself be so stupid. He'd finally gotten Cas to start warming up to him, and now he's gone and ruined it. His dad is right. Dean ruins everything he touches. 

Wednesday, October 28

9:31pm

* * *

After Dean runs out of the gazebo Castiel sinks down to the ground. He feels like his entire body is shaking. He can’t believe they just did that. What the hell had gotten into him? He actually kissed Dean… and not just a kiss…that was a full make-out.

He feels nauseous. _What if he was awful at it? What if Dean tells people? What if his friends find out? His parents? What does this mean?!?!_

Castiel puts his head in his hands. His lips are still tingling, and it’s not an unpleasant feeling. He can’t deny it anymore. He didn’t enjoy that kiss, he loved it. _What does that mean?_ He shouldn’t enjoy kissing Dean. He shouldn’t enjoy kissing a boy, period.

This has gone so much further than he ever thought it would. He can’t keep explaining away his fascination with Dean as being curious about the new kid from Kansas. He wants to be around Dean all the time. He wants to get to know him. He wants to hear his voice and be the reason for his laugh. He wants to impress him. He wants to hold him. He wants to kiss him. That isn’t fascination, that’s a crush. He has a crush on Dean.

Friday, October 30

7:50am

* * *

Castiel steps out of the shower and towels off his wet hair. He’s been taking more showers than usual recently, as if he’ll be able to wash away the memory of his kiss with Dean if he takes multiple showers per day. It’s not working.

His phone rings at the same time as he finishes drying himself off. The caller is unidentified. “Hello?” He answers it. “Oh hi, Alfie… you’re RSVP’ing to the party? Uh-huh… well why are you calling _me_?” He leaves the bathroom and closes the door. “You were supposed to call Dean, not me.”

Alfie stammers to explain that Castiel’s name and number had been on the invite, not Dean’s. Last week he would’ve been pissed off to find out Dean had pulled something like that on him. Now when he walks past the mirror he sees there’s actually a smile on his face. He quickly replaces it with annoyance once he sees it. He should not find the fact that Dean is the only one who pushes back against him endearing.

“Sorry, there must be something wrong with my phone,” he crinkles a piece of paper next to his phone to make it sound like there’s static. “I can’t hear…” he hangs up and tosses the phone onto his bed.

When he looks back up, he sees that Hester must’ve finished their costumes this morning because they’re all hanging up neatly in the closet. Three angel costumes and two demons. Crowley managed to find good looking wings at an online Halloween costume store. They’d paid extra to have them shipped here in time, but it was worth it. The red leather pants for the demon costumes have red tails sewn into the back of them. They look amazing!

He hears Inias honk from downstairs, meaning he’s waiting for Castiel to get down there so they can leave. He’s still standing in his towel with no idea what he’s going to wear to school today. Inias honks again, and Castiel contemplates staying home sick. Even though he’s gone back to avoiding Dean as much as possible, he still feels his face heat up every time they make accidental eye contact in the hallways or cafeteria. He feels like if the two of them interact at all, it’ll be obvious to the entire school what happened. He doesn’t think Dean has told anybody about it, because if he had the gossip would’ve spread like wildfire. That doesn't mean he won't ever tell anyone about it though. 

Castiel needs to do something to reassert his control on his world. Everything feels different now, and he can’t handle it. He needs to do something to distract everyone from what he’s worried people can read easily on his face.

In an impulse decision he puts on his angel costume, admiring how good he looks in the black leather pants. It’s Friday and it’s the day before Halloween. Surely he should be allowed to wear his costume to school. Inias honks the horn again, and Castiel quickly grabs Crowley’s, Gabriel’s, and Balthazar’s costumes before he rushes out the door. He’s in such a hurry that he forgets to grab Dean’s costume. Or at least that’s what he’ll tell his mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all didn't think it'd be that easy did you? 
> 
> Seriously though, I hope you don't hate Cas. He's trying to grow, but he's scared of himself and his feelings right now. He won't be able to ignore Dean forever though


	11. Would Everything Be Different Today?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Can I talk to you for a minute?” Dean’s voice is pinched and angry. Of course he’s angry. First Castiel goes and kisses him, taking things way past the point of ‘practicing’, then he yells at Dean to leave even though the entire thing was Cas’s fault in the first place, then he spends the next day hiding like a coward, and now he’s purposefully left him out of their costume plan that was Dean’s idea in the first place. Castiel is a horrible person, but that’s not news to anyone.

Friday, October 30

8:25am

* * *

The boys always turn heads when they walk through the hallways of Hancock school, but today the envious stares are even more intense than usual. The four boys walk with their heads held high while wearing their angel and demon costumes. Everyone they’ve talked to this morning has either complimented them on their daring costumes or told them how excited they are for the party tomorrow.

“This is a huge mistake,” Balthazar mutters under his breath.

“Why?” Castiel asks. He's happy to be the center of attention again and doesn’t want Balthazar’s anxiety to ruin it.

“Even though Hancock doesn’t have an official uniform, it does have a pretty strict ‘no skin’ policy that we’re breaking in a major way,” Balthazar says through gritted teeth. “I’m pretty sure the faculty expects everyone to wear shirts to class.”

“Relax,” Crowley says from his left. “It’s the day before Halloween. Nobody is going to care that we’re wearing costumes.”

“Yeah, and we’re not the only ones wearing costumes anyways,” Gabe says. “Ours are the coolest though.”

By third period they’d seen three wanna-be angel costumes. By lunch there were six. It looks like some people have stolen props from the theater department to make their costumes. Other guys have just taken their shirts off. “Look there’s another one,” Crowley points while they wait in line at the café. Marv passes by wearing what looks like butterfly wings and a halo made out of toilet paper.

“These are getting creative,” Gabriel laughs. They slide their trays closer to the cash register.

“Aren’t you guys glad to be one of us,” Castiel winks at them. His phone vibrates in his pocket, so he pulls it out and answers it. “Speaking,” he says and then mouths “It’s Andy,” to the boys. “You’ll be at the party tomorrow? Well I’d be excited too if I was you, because this is the first time you’ve been invited to one of my parties.” He covers the mouthpiece so Andy can’t hear the other boys laughing hysterically beside him. “How did you get my number anyways?” He takes a step closer to the cash register. “Are you sure it didn’t say ‘Dean?’ You never were the best reader.”

Gabriel grabs the phone away from Castiel’s ear and hangs up. Andy calls back, but this time Cas hits ignore. “That’s the fifth call I’ve gotten this week from Hancock’s least wanted, and unfortunately all of them have RSVP’d yes.”

“Is Kali coming?” Gabriel asks, and Castiel feels Crowley stiffen next to him.

“Yes,” Cas replies, “And so are all of her hot friends.” The four of them take their trays and head over to their table at the far end of the cafeteria. They stop every so often to talk to their adoring fans about the highly anticipated party tomorrow.

“Castiel, is it true that Abbadon planned your party?” Ash Harvelle asks.

“Yes!” Castiel responds. “She said this party is going to be one of her best.”

“Are you guys wearing the angel and demon costumes tomorrow or do you have something else planned?” Raphael asks.

“You’ll have to wait and see.” Balthazar turns around and slaps the ass of his leather pants.

“Is it true that Luke Morningstar came up with the idea for the boy/girl Halloween party first?” Jake Talley asks.

Castiel stares him down. “What do you think?” Jake opens his mouth to respond, but thinks better of it and walks away. “We should’ve held a press conference,” Castiel jokes after everyone leaves. They sit down at their usual table and begin pulling out their lunches.

“By the way,” Crowley begins. “Alfie has been telling everyone he talked to you on the phone this morning before school. He said you guys talked for hours.”

“No way!” Castiel gasps.

“I heard that too,” Balthazar says. “How did all of these losers get your number in the first place?”

“I think I know,” he starts, but before he can finish that sentence he feels Dean standing behind him. He’s not sure when he got to the point of being able to sense when his neighbor is close by, but apparently that ship has sailed.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Dean’s voice is pinched and angry. Of course he’s angry. First Castiel goes and kisses him, taking things way past the point of ‘practicing’, then he yells at Dean to leave even though the entire thing was Cas’s fault in the first place, then he spends the next day hiding like a coward, and now he’s purposefully left him out of their costume plan that was Dean’s idea in the first place. Castiel is a horrible person, but that’s not news to anyone. He feels that mixture of guilt and nausea he’s been feeling for the past two days and puts down his sandwich. He knows he’s not going to be able to eat anything.

“Go ahead,” he says, not looking up at Dean because he knows if he does, everything will get worse than it already is.

“I mean in private,” Dean shifts so Castiel can’t avoid looking at him anymore.

“He’s going to tell us anything you tell him anyways, so you might as well just say it here,” Crowley says.

“Okay,” Dean shifts awkwardly from foot to foot. “Castiel,” He raises his voice loud enough to where people at the nearby tables can definitely hear him. “I’d like to talk to you about what happened in the gazebo please.” Castiel feels his whole body go tense, and he sees the other boys shoot confused looks at each other out of the corner of his eye.

“Fine,” He hisses and stands up. He grabs Dean by the arm and walks as quickly as he can with him out of the cafeteria. When they get to the bathroom next to the cafeteria, Castiel opens the door and shoves Dean inside. There are two boys standing at the sinks who look up abruptly when they loudly barge in. “Leave, now,” Castiel says in a tone that leaves no room for argument, and the two boys scamper out of the bathroom. He locks the door after them so nobody else can come in. “What is it?”

“You have to ask?” Dean scoffs. “I get that you’re pissed I took things too far the other night. I’m sorry. I guess I got caught up in the heat of the moment and didn’t think.” Dean rubs the back of his head awkwardly, and now Castiel is extra confused. Dean thinks this was _his_ fault? “But what you’re doing right now is childish, Cas. Ignoring my messages, pretending you don’t see me in the hallways, leaving me out of your plans to wear the costumes today at school.” Castiel looks down at his feet because he knows Dean is right. “I know things were never great between us, but I was starting to feel like we could maybe be friends. I don’t want a stupid kiss to get in the way of that. I don’t want to have to go back to hating you.”  
  


Dean doesn’t hate him. Dean thinks they can be friends. He closes his eyes. He doesn’t deserve it.

“I’m sorry, Dean,” he says quietly, keeping his eyes shut. “I’m sorry about the costumes.” He pauses. “I’m sorry about everything.”

He feels a light caress on his cheek, and does his best to ignore how he shivers every time Dean barely touches him. He opens his eyes and can see concern in Dean’s green ones. He doesn’t even have time to worry about Dean being able to read what he’s feeling before Dean says, “I get it, Cas. I’m not going to tell anybody.”

“Thank you, Dean,” he says quietly because he doesn’t know what else he could possibly say right now.

Dean lets his hand drop and takes a step back. “I still get to wear a demon costume to the party tomorrow, right?” He winks to let Cas know he’s just kidding, but Cas nods anyways. Dean looks like he wants to say something else, but he just gives a small smile and leaves him alone in the bathroom.

Friday, October 30

12:42pm

* * *

When Dean rushes to leave the bathroom, he almost runs into Benny. There are a few other guys in the hallway as well, and they must’ve been trying to listen to what he and Castiel were talking about. Hopefully they didn’t hear anything.

He starts walking to his next class with Benny close on his heels. “I kept them away from the door, brother,” Benny says, and Dean is grateful once again for having Benny as his best friend. He always knows what Dean needs without him even having to ask.

“Thanks,” Dean says quietly. His conversation with Castiel went better than he’d hoped it would. He knows he’d fucked up, but he is glad they seem to be on the same page again. The kiss was a mistake. They’d forget about it, put it behind them, and work on strengthening this tenuous friendship they’re building.

Except the kiss wasn’t a mistake. Not for Dean anyways. It had been one of the single best moments of his life, and he wanted nothing more than to do it again. He needs to stop thinking like that though. It’s not going to happen. He obviously made Cas uncomfortable, and he’s lucky his neighbor accepted his apology.

He looks over at Benny once they reach the door to Dean’s next class. Benny’s class is on the opposite side of the building, but he keeps looking at Dean with his do-you-want-to-talk-about-it look on his face. No, he doesn’t want to talk about it. “I guess I’ll see you later,” Benny says once he can tell Dean isn’t going to say anything else. Dean heads into the classroom and takes his usual seat towards the back counting down the minutes until he can go home, lock himself in his room, and be upset without anybody judging him or asking him questions.

Friday, October 30

1:33pm

* * *

“I told you we’d get in trouble,” Balthazar whispers while he holds his stomach and rocks back and forth nervously. “My parents are going to ground me until I’m eighteen.”

The four of them are sitting outside of the principal’s office. Everyone at Hancock refers to the principal as Mr. Death because he looks like the grim reaper incarnate. All he needs is a scythe and black robes. They can barely make out what he’s saying through the closed door as he calls each of their parents.

“This is so stupid,” Castiel grumbles. “My parents raise so much money for this school, and this is how they treat us?”

“I’ll get my dad to shoot a special segment on Dr. Sexy M.D. about the repression of our freedom of expression at high schools across America.” Whenever Gabriel doesn’t approve of something, he threatens to have his famous father expose it on his hit TV show. “He hates when people try to suppress the creativity of young people.”

The lady at the front desk shushes them, but it just causes the boys to chuckle. “One more peep out of you, and I’ll blast the air conditioning on full,” she threatens. “Ten minutes and your half-naked bodies will be frozen solid.”

The boys start laughing again, but Balthazar is furious. “Stop that! If he hears us laughing, we’re going to be in even more trouble.”

“What’s he going to do?” Castiel laughs. “Dress us to death?”

“Precisely, Mr. Novak,” Principal Richings says from the doorway to his office. “Each of your parents have been notified of your behavior, and they’ll deal with you however they see fit, but as long as you are in my school, you’ll dress like gentlemen not like Magic Mike.” He stares at each of them for a few seconds over his hooked nose. “Cover yourselves with clothes from the lost and found and get back to class.”

By the time the boys sift through the clothes that are available in the lost and found, the bell is ringing for passing period. They walk through the hallways to their next classes, and as usual they turn heads, but this time it’s for all the wrong reasons.

Castiel is wearing a plain brown t-shirt with a huge ketchup stain on it paired with a pair of XXL sweatpants that he has to hold up while he walks. Crowley has on a pair of skater boy skinny jeans he can barely walk in and a pink breast cancer awareness shirt. Gabriel is wearing an oversized tie-dyed t-shirt over camo cargo pants, and Balthazar has on a brown jacket with an over-the-top amount of fringe and cowboy boots. He calls it his new “rodeo-chic” look, but Crowley calls it “rodeo no, you didn’t!”

They still manage to hold their heads high for the rest of the day. Castiel can feel some of the boys making mental notes on what they’re wearing, and he can’t wait for Monday when people come to school dressed up like they all went shopping at Salvation Army.

Saturday, October 31

6:05pm

* * *

Dean watches from his bedroom as Abbadon and her party set-up crew runs around the back yard, making sure every detail is ready for when the guests arrive. He looks towards his closet where Hester hung up his demon costume. Castiel must’ve told her to move it to his room. He gets ready quickly, thankful that he can still be part of their crew even though Cas pulled that childish stunt yesterday.

He thinks he’s finally starting to figure out how his neighbor works. He lashes out when he gets hurt or feels like he’s losing control. Dean is tired of being his punching bag, but Castiel did apologize yesterday. That doesn’t make everything better obviously. After everything Cas did to him at the beginning of the year, it’s going to take quite a while for Dean to be able to trust him.

He puts on his demon costume. The leather pants really were a great idea, but Dean can’t help but find it hilarious the other boys all had to go to the principal’s office for wearing theirs to school yesterday. That was the only silver lining about being left out of their plans. 

He knows this costume is the best opportunity he has to get some kisses for the bet. He’s not arrogant, but he knows he looks damn good tonight. The red leather pants hug his legs in all the right places, and going shirtless gives him the opportunity to show off all the hard work he's done in the gym. He’d be surprised if he didn’t find at least a couple Hancock girls who’d be willing to kiss him. He takes a deep breath to try and dispel some of the pre-party jitters and heads downstairs.

Saturday, October 31

6:50pm

* * *

Castiel stands in front of his full-length bedroom mirror trying his best to position the angel halo on his head without messing up his perfectly mussed up hair. It would be easier to do if he wasn’t trying to talk on his phone at the same time, but he has to multitask since he’s running late.

“Zar, you need to stop crying,” he says, “I can’t understand what you’re saying.” Castiel hears Balthazar blow his nose loudly into a tissue and moves the phone away from his ear slightly cause _gross_.

“My parents,” sniff, “won’t let me,” harsh inhale, “come to the party.” Balthazar lets out a sob once he gets the sentence out.

“Tell them it’ll just be boys,” Castiel suggests. Balthazar's parents are extremely strict, but since he's only come out to his close friends and not his family yet, they probably won't have a problem with the party if it's just boys.

“It’s not that. It’s the call they got from Principal Richings yesterday. I knew we shouldn’t have worn-“

“No offense, but your parents are way too strict,” Castiel interrupts him. “My dad lectured me for about a minute about how we sometimes have to follow rules even when we don’t agree with them and then went back to his work.” He straightens the wings on his back so they don’t look crooked.

“You’re lucky you have cool parents,” Balthazar sighs.

“Can’t you sneak out?”

“I’m already grounded for like a month,” he sighs again. “I don’t want to turn that into two months.”

Castiel understands why Zar doesn’t want to risk sneaking out, but he can’t lie that he’s upset his friend isn’t able to come to the party. He wishes that just this once, Balthazar would stick up to his parents. “Don’t worry, I’ll call you, ‘kay?” He knows he should’ve been more supportive, but he’s already late. He spends a few more minutes primping until he’s finally ready. By seven he’s standing by the front gate of the property, ready to greet his guests.

It’s pretty warm out for late October, but that’s a good thing because otherwise wearing a costume without a shirt all night would be miserable. Abbadon rushes past him holding a box of black candles and says, “Everyone is going to be talking about this party for the next five years at least!” Castiel’s heart feels so full of pride that it might burst.

Waiters rush around carrying trays of food and wearing red outfits to make them look like Satan’s helpers. The ice skating rink he’d requested is set up next to the pool, its edges marked by dozens of fake skulls. Two zombies are standing at a booth on the side of the rink to pass out rental skates. Bloody mannequins are hanging on trees around the yard, and there are three massive bonfires surrounded by blankets for people to sit on while they roast marshmallows.

The DJ is playing cheesy Halloween classics, and the dry ice machine casts an eerie fog that hovers slightly above the grass. Everything is in place except for one last detail. He grabs a piece of paper, writes “Out Of Order” on it with a sharpie, and then he tapes it up on the door of one of the poolside bathrooms. Every party host needs a private place to rendezvous with his crew.

The first guests start to arrive, and just as he was hoping, everyone is speechless when they walk through the gates.

“Castiel, I think I’ve died and gone to hell,” Andy Gallagher says in awe. He and his friends are dressed like hippies, and as usual he smells like weed. Castiel tries to breathe inconspicuously out of his mouth until Andy is out of his air space. “This is the coolest party I’ve ever been to. You and Dean are amazing!”

“Actually, Dean didn’t really have anything to do with it.” Castiel tries to control the way he immediately freaks out when his name is paired with Dean’s, even when it’s for something innocuous like co-hosting a party. He trusts that Dean won’t tell anybody about their kiss, but he’s still terrified that people will find out somehow anyways.

Castiel leaves before Andy can respond. He sees Kali arrive with her friends from the Hancock girls' school, so he starts heading over that way. She’s standing next to Lisa Braeden who is dressed up as Tinker Bell and Meg Masters who is dressed up as a witch.

Ever since Castiel realized the only feelings he had for Anna were platonic, he vowed to himself he wouldn’t make the mistake of announcing a crush to his friends until he was sure the feelings were mutual. He’s had his eyes on Lisa for a while now, but he has no idea if she feels the same way. He’s hoping tonight he’ll be able to find out.

Castiel thinks the best thing about Lisa is her magnetic smile. He’s never seen anybody with teeth as perfectly white as hers. She also has a musical laugh that can fill up a room. She’s by far the most popular girl in the junior class at Hancock. What Anna is for the senior class, Lisa is for juniors. She’s captain of the varsity volleyball squad and has all of the girls at Hancock either wanting to be her or be her friend. If the two of them got together they’d be quite the power couple.

“Don’t you look _angelic_ ,” Lisa says when he approaches her.

“You’re looking pretty magical yourself,” he responds, and she giggles. He actually hasn’t ever heard her laugh in person, but he immediately understands what all the boys at school have been talking about. The only other laugh he’s heard that makes him immediately smile like that is... _nope, not going there tonight_. “What are you supposed to be?” He turns to Kali.

She’s wearing a dinosaur onesie and holding a book. “I’m a Thesaurus Rex,” she explains, holding up the thesaurus for him to see. Castiel hates punny costumes, but he knows Gabriel is going to be head-over-heels in love when he sees her. He constantly makes terrible puns. “So are these the infamous costumes we’ve been hearing about?” Kali looks him up and down, but he wishes Lisa had noticed his costume instead. She’s too busy straightening out Meg’s purple witches’ wig.

Castiel is about to brag about how much trouble they got into at school when he sees a demon costume in the corner of his eye, and unfortunately it isn’t Crowley.

“Sorry I’m late,” Dean says. “I had to make sure Sammy had something to eat.” He turns to Kali. “Hey, I’m Dean.”

“You must be the new boy we’ve been hearing about,” Lisa says, giving him a once over.

“You’ve heard of me?” Dean shoots her one of his flirtatious winks, and it sparks jealousy within Castiel. He’s not sure if he’s jealous of Dean flirting with Lisa or jealous of Lisa being on the receiving end of one of those winks.

“Look,” Castiel hisses. “There’s no point in both of us standing in the same place. Why don’t you hang out by the DJ booth in case people want to request a song, and I’ll stay here to greet people as they come in.” Castiel breathes a sigh of relief when Dean leaves without putting up a fight apart from rolling his eyes. Now that _he’s_ out of the way, Castiel is free to focus his energy on Lisa.

Saturday, October 31

7:40pm

* * *

Dean walks across the yard, passing some people dressed up as zombies who are handing out appetizers. He got the hint loud and clear that Castiel wanted him out of the way, but he’s not going to spend the night camped out by the DJ booth. This is his party too.

“Hey Lucifer!”

Dean turns to see Benny waving at him. He’s dressed up in a tropical shirt with a Hawaiian lei and surfing swim trunks. He’s also wearing boxing gloves. It takes Dean a second to realize he’s dressed up as a “Hawaiian Punch.” Dean bursts out laughing once he gets Benny’s costume.

“I love this holiday,” Benny says once Dean’s stopped laughing.

Just then Crowley and Gabriel walk past them. Gabriel chuckles when he realizes what Benny is dressed up as but Crowley scoffs, “I hate punny costumes.”

“At least I _wore_ a costume,” Benny retorts. “You look the same as you always do: identical to Castiel.” Dean stiffens because he’s also wearing the same costume as Cas is, but Crowley and Gabriel walk away without responding. “I wasn’t talking about you, Dean,” Benny clarifies. “I know the costumes were your idea.”

They take a lap around the yard until they run into Kevin and Garth. Kevin is wearing a gorilla costume, and Garth is decked out in army fatigues. “What? I look good in uniform,” he says when Dean chuckles at the idea of skinny Garth trying out for any of the armed forces.

By this point, the party is in full swing. It looks like all eighty people they’d invited showed up. Dean can’t help but wonder if everyone would’ve showed up if it had just been his name on the invitation. For the most part, the boys are hanging out around the treats tables and the girls are hovering on the edge of the dance floor. Nobody is mingling. _This is the problem with all-girl and all-boy schools_ , Dean thinks to himself. Nobody knows how to interact with each other.

“This DJ sucks,” Kevin’s voice is muffled under his gorilla costume. “When are they going to play some real music?”

“Let’s go request some!” Dean drags them over to the DJ booth. “Excuse me,” he says. “Do you think you could play some real music soon?”

“Thank god,” the DJ groans. “Abbadon made me play this crap.”

Seconds later AC/DC blasts from the speakers, and people run to the dance floor. “Do you think anybody is going to want to dance with me?” Dean asks Benny as they head over to the floor.

“See this is the problem with having girls at the party. If it was just boys you wouldn’t care. You’d be dancing already,” Benny says.

“If it was only boys, I probably wouldn’t have come,” Dean says sourly. “I’ve seen what guys around here do for fun, and it usually involves torturing _me_. If you don’t introduce me to any girls, I’ll go do it myself.”

Benny laughs. “Or better yet, you can ask your co-host to introduce you. I dare you.”

Dean bites his lip. He’s been doing what he can to avoid Cas since the ‘incident,’ but he also doesn’t like turning down a dare. “Fine,” he says, looking over towards where Cas is standing by the pool surrounded by a group of girls who are gushing over his costume.

His neighbor doesn’t look up as he approaches. Dean tries to make his tone light and playful instead of nervous when he says “Hey, there co-host!” He nudges Castiel’s arm, and the other boy flinches. This was probably a bad idea.

“Excuse me for a minute,” Cas says and then grabs his arm to drag him away from the crowd. When they get to a darker part of the yard where people can’t see them, Castiel turns to glare at him. The anger in his eyes is at odds with his angelic costume. Maybe he should’ve gone as a demon instead. “What is it?” he hisses.

“Sorry to interrupt, I was just wondering-“

“Dean,” Castiel pinches the bridge of his nose. “This yard is huge. Is it really that hard for you to find somewhere to go that isn’t all up on me?”

Normally Dean would give up, but he's tired of Castiel's hot and cold attitude towards him. “I was wondering if you could introduce us to some Hancock girls,” He points over to where Benny, Kevin, and Garth are standing.

“Why should I?” Castiel puts his hands on his hips. Instead of backing down, it just makes Dean stand up taller. Cas isn’t small, but he’s not as tall as Dean is. He isn’t as muscular either.

“I seem to remember your parents were under the impression we were hosting this party together,” Dean says slowly, as if he’s talking to a child. “How upset do you think they’d be if I told them you’ve been telling everyone this is just _your_ party?”

“Why guess?” Castiel asks. “Why don’t you go ask them right now?”

Dean freezes for a second. That wasn’t the answer he was expecting, but he has a feeling Castiel is bluffing so he continues to push him. “Okay, fine,” he says and starts walking towards the main house.

“Wait,” Castiel grabs his wrist to stop him. “Go to the Out of Order bathroom by the pool, and I’ll bring some girls over.”

“No losers,” Dean says before yanking his arm away. He knows he probably shouldn’t abuse the sudden power he has over Castiel, but it’s hard not to. “And no funny business, or I’ll talk.”

Castiel stares him down for another few seconds, but Dean refuses to turn away. Nobody ever stands up to him, they always crack under that gaze. Dean just has to wait him out. After a few more seconds of intense eye contact, Castiel sighs, “Fine!”

As Dean walks back to his friends he wonders if anything is worth this kind of trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How long do you think it's going to take for them to realize they both really liked that kiss and want to do it again? ;)


	12. I'll Get You Out on the Floor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At least this will give Castiel a few minutes to compose himself. It’s just a little kissing. Kissing never killed anyone right?

Saturday, October 31

8:22pm

* * *

The out-of-order bathroom is a tight squeeze for Dean and his three friends while they wait for Castiel to come back. Because of the lack of space, Dean is forced to sit on the toilet seat.

“I can’t believe I let you talk us into this,” Benny groans.

“We’re being set up,” Kevin says quietly. “There’s no other reason why he’d tell us to wait in the bathroom. This is a set up for a bad prank.”

“Trust me,” Dean says before biting into a snickers bar he grabbed from the snack table. “He wanted us to meet here so he wouldn’t have to be seen with us in public.”

“Oh, cause that’s so much better,” Benny rolls his eyes. He takes off his boxing gloves and puts them back on to give himself something to do while they wait.

Before Dean can come up with a witty reply, there’s a light rap on the door. “It’s me,” Castiel says. He tries to open up the door, but it’s so cramped that the door bashes into Benny.

“This is stupid,” Benny says and gets ready to leave. “I’m out of here.”

As Benny pushes past him, Castiel says “Andrea is by the punch bowl, by the way.”

“Huh. Thanks.” Benny heads over to the punch table, and Dean can’t help the small smile on his face. Cas is actually helping them out because Dean asked him to. Well to be fair, he kind of threatened him, but Castiel hadn’t put up as much of a fight as he normally would have. Dean has to celebrate the little victories.

There are three girls standing next to Castiel in the doorway. One has medium-length curly red hair and is dressed as a Vulcan from Star Trek. One girl’s face is hidden because she’s wearing a lioness costume. The third girl is blonde and dressed as Hermione Granger. “This is Charlie, Channing, and Becky. Have a blast.”

Castiel leaves without another word. Channing and Kevin immediately begin bonding over their animal costumes and how they’re much hotter than they thought they’d be. Garth and Becky seem to hit it off immediately which leaves him and Charlie.

“You wanna get out of this cramped bathroom?” Dean asks.

“Lead the way!” They head over to grab some snacks first and then find an empty spot on one of the blankets by a bonfire to chat. Charlie seems really sweet and funny, but Dean is confused why Cas thought she’d be his type.

“So how come I haven’t seen you around before?” Charlie asks him as she takes a sip of punch.

“I just moved here from Kansas a couple months ago.” He says, looking down. He hopes she won’t question him further because he’s not really in the mood to explain why they’d had to move.

“I know what that’s like,” she says. “I’m pretty new to here too. I moved up from Boston last year. My parents passed away, so I came to live with my aunt.”

Maybe they do have something in common. “My mom passed away when I was ten. It’s been hard on my dad, so we ended up moving here so he could get a job.” They pass the next few minutes in awkward silence while they eat their snacks. Dean decides to just put them out of their misery by saying, “I’m not sure what Castiel told you, but he was trying to set us up together.” She raises her eyebrows. Dean continues, “You seem awesome, and I bet we can be really good friends, but I don’t think I’m interested in more than that.”

“Dean,” she laughs. “I’m a six on the Kinsey scale. But I’ll agree with your assessment that I’m awesome. You seem awesome too.”

“I’m a three,” he says quietly, blushing. It’s as close as he’s come to actually admitting he’s bi out loud. Sam figured it out on his own, and Dean obviously knows he has a crush on Cas, but he’s never actually said it out loud.

“Ah so you’re into Leia _and_ Luke,” she nods to herself. “I can respect that.”

“Actually Leia and Han Solo if you want to be more specific.”

“Okay,” she says, “Here’s a question: Star Wars or Star Trek?”

“Both.”

Charlie laughs, “You bisexuals think you never have to choose,” but she gives him a light shove to show she’s only joking. They spend the next half hour talking about all things ‘nerdy,’ and Dean knows the two of them are going to be great friends. He’s still curious why Cas would try to set him up with Charlie since she made it pretty clear that everyone knows she’s gay. Maybe Cas didn’t know somehow. Or maybe he did it on purpose so Dean wouldn’t be able to win the bet. He wouldn’t put it past him.

Saturday, October 31

8:40pm

* * *

“I am dying for marshmallows,” Castiel says to nobody in particular. He sits down by the bonfire that Kali, Lisa, and Meg are gathered around. “Sorry to interrupt, but this bonfire is the best for roasting.” After he sits down, Crowley and Gabriel sit down as well.

“You’re not interrupting,” says Meg as she hands them each sticks to roast marshmallows with. “Who wants to make me a s’more?”

“Make your own,” Gabriel laughs as he roasts two marshmallows on one stick.

Castiel assembles a s’more and hands it to Lisa who smiles gratefully and says, “See? Gentlemen still exist.” Castiel shoots a smirk at Gabriel.

“Shut up,” Gabriel throws one of his marshmallows at Castiel. That inevitably starts a marshmallow flinging war which gets particularly ugly when the girls start throwing molten ones fresh off the fire. 

“This is boring,” Crowley says after a few minutes. “Who wants to play spin the bottle?”

“I do,” Dean’s voice comes out of nowhere. He’s standing by Charlie. They must’ve decided to switch bonfires when they saw how much fun everyone was having over here. Castiel feels slightly bad about setting Dean up with Charlie since he knows she’s gay, but then he sees how well they’re getting along. He told himself the reason he picked Charlie was so Dean couldn’t win the bet, but really he just didn’t want to have to see Dean kiss anyone. He knows that isn’t fair. He doesn’t have any claim on Dean. They had one practice kiss, that’s it.

“Anyone else want to play?” Crowley asks. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

“I’ll play.” Everyone turns to see where the mysterious voice came from. An attractive boy with blond hair and light stubble walks towards the bonfire. He’s dressed as a surfer wearing a tight wetsuit that shows off his chiseled chest muscles.

“Yeah, me too,” Kali says. “I’ll play.”

“Count me in,” Lisa adds.

“Oh, now they want to play,” Gabriel mumbles to Castiel.

“Cool,” the new boy says. “It’s great to see you guys by the way.”

“Good to see you too,” Castiel says with a shrug, looking towards Gabriel. He has no idea who this guy is.

“Wait, Brady?” Crowley asks. “I didn’t even recognize you! Where have you been all semester?”

“I was really sick, but I’m feeling better now.” Brady joins them in sitting by the bonfire.

Gabriel coughs, “ _nose job_.”

Castiel coughs back, “ _totally_.”

“You look great!” Crowley says.

“Yeah, different somehow,” Castiel taps his chin like he’s thinking about something. Gabriel shoves him playfully. He looks at Crowley to see if he’s noticed Brady’s obviously surgically enhanced face, but if he does, he doesn’t show it.

“All right, who’s ready to play?” Crowley claps his hands. Castiel is confused why Crowley seems to be more interested in _having_ fun with Brady than _making_ fun of him, but that’s a question for another time. The nervous butterflies that show up whenever he thinks about the bet are swarming around his stomach again.

“I’ll go grab a bottle,” he mumbles and then gets up. At least this will give Castiel a few minutes to compose himself. It’s just a little kissing. Kissing never killed anyone right? He takes longer than is probably necessary to go grab an empty bottle of wine from the recycling. He also steals a bit more liquid courage from his dad’s cabinet.

When he gets back to the bonfire, he sees everyone has set themselves up in a circle. Charlie left but it looks like everyone else decided they want to play. Castiel holds up the empty wine bottle and the half-full bottle of tequila. They all cheer for him when he takes a big swig of alcohol before passing it off to Crowley who he sits down next to.

“Alright here are the rules,” Crowley says after taking a sip of tequila and passing it off to Meg who is sitting next to him. “The person who spins the bottle has to kiss the person the bottle lands on. If they don’t want to kiss that person, they have to do a round of Truth or Dare. Every fifth round will be a round of Seven Minutes in Heaven instead of a regular kiss. Those people will have to spend seven minutes in the Out of Order bathroom together… in the dark.” Crowley scans everyone’s faces in the group to see if everyone agrees to the terms. Castiel tries to swallow past the lump in his throat. At least Crowley is giving them an out if they choose not to kiss someone.

“I’ll go first,” Gabriel says. He grabs the empty wine bottle and gives it a good spin on the blanket. It lands on Kali. He raises his eyebrows at her, and she smirks. Gabriel practically launches himself across the blanket to kiss her. Everyone starts cheering and clapping for them. After about thirty seconds Crowley grabs the back of Gabriel’s costume wings to pull him off of Kali. He’s the only one who isn’t smiling, and Castiel assumes that’s because he also has a crush on Kali.

“My turn!” Brady grabs the bottle and spins it. It hands on Dean. “Sorry, man,” Brady says. “You’re attractive, but I don’t swing that way. I’ll do Truth.”

“Why did you really miss the first two months of school?” Gabriel asks him.

“Okay, fine,” Brady says. “I was traveling.”

“And?” Castiel asks, shooting a wink at Gabe.

“Aaaand got some cosmetic work done.”

Gabriel shouts, “I knew it!” Crowley still looks annoyed, but Castiel can’t imagine why. It’s not like he and Brady are friends.

“Nothing wrong with taking beauty and elevating it to perfection,” Brady says, shooting a wink towards the girls who all start giggling and blushing.

“My turn,” Lisa spins the bottle and it lands on Castiel. He blushes, but out of all of the people in the circle, he would most like to kiss her. He nods and she crawls over the blanket to him. They press their lips together, and Castiel hears the rest of the group clapping, but doesn’t pay any attention to them. He feels Lisa swipe her tongue at the seam of his lips, but he doesn’t open his mouth to her. Instead he fists his hand in her hair, noticing how soft it is, but at the same time how it’s too long. He pulls away with a smile, and she winks at him.

Castiel glances around the circle and sees that everyone is smiling except for Dean. Maybe he’s upset he hasn’t gotten a kiss yet. That changes when Meg spins the bottle next, and it lands on Dean. Castiel ends up turning away when they kiss, unsure why a pit forms in his stomach.

It’s Dean’s turn next, and since he’s the fifth person, he’s spinning for who he’ll get to spend seven minutes in heaven with. The pit in Castiel’s stomach gets bigger and starts feeling a lot like jealousy. He holds his breath as the bottle spins, and releases it when the bottle lands on him. The thought of spending seven minutes alone in a dark room with Dean should make him nervous, but honestly he’s mostly glad Dean won’t be spending that time with Meg or Lisa.

“This is going to be awkward,” Crowley laughs, and Castiel flips him off. He gets up at the same time as Dean, and they walk towards the Out of Order bathroom in silence.

When they step inside, Castiel sets his timer for seven minutes and then turns off the light. “So, this is kind of awkward,” he chuckles to try and relieve the tension.

“Hey, man, I’m just glad it didn’t land on Brady,” Dean laughs. “He creeps me out.”

“Right?!” Castiel exclaims. “Crowley is enamored with him for some reason.”

“I’m gonna sit down,” Dean says, and Castiel can hear him slide down the wall until he’s sitting. He can barely see Dean’s outline in the dark, but he decides he should sit too. It’d be weird if he’s the only one standing the whole time. He fumbles in the dark until he’s sitting down. Dean chuckles because even though it’s pitch black in here, he definitely heard Castiel bumping into every possible surface on the way to sitting.

“Shut up,” Castiel can’t help but laugh. He feels the solid press of Dean’s knee against his, and he suddenly has the urge to lean forward and kiss Dean again. Maybe it’d be easier in the dark. It is Seven Minutes in Heaven after all.

He feels Dean reach out to put his hand on Castiel’s knee. He’s doing that thing he does with his thumb gently sliding back and forth that drives him crazy. Castiel wants more. He reaches forward until he can grab onto the arm that Dean has stretched out towards him. He feels Dean’s firm bicep under his hands, and his mouth dries up.

“Cas?” Dean asks quietly. There are so many questions in that one word, and he has no idea how to answer any of them. He feels along Dean’s arm until he reaches his muscular shoulder. Dean is stronger than an almost-seventeen-year-old has any right to be. He shows just how strong he is when he grabs Castiel’s hands from his shoulder and practically pulls him on top of him.

Dean is sitting with his back against the wall and his legs stretched out in front of him. Castiel lets himself get pulled up until he’s straddling Dean’s thighs. He can barely make out Dean’s face in front of his. They are sitting obscenely close together, but somehow it feels right in the cover of darkness.

“Cas,” Dean whispers again, but this time it isn’t a question. He feels Dean’s breath on his cheek, and a few seconds later their lips connect. It’s just as intense as the first time. Maybe even more intense since this time there isn’t any awkward fumbling. Dean’s hands spread across his back, and he feels Dean pull him even closer until they’re chest to chest. He can’t help but moan at the first contact of skin on skin. Somehow he’d forgotten they’re both not wearing shirts.

He moans quietly when Dean breaks the kiss to move his lips to the sensitive skin by his ear. “You have no idea what you do to me, Cas.” Feeling Dean whisper against his skin causes him to shudder. They shouldn’t be doing this, but Castiel can’t find it in himself to stop it. There’s something about Dean that draws him in. If he’s being honest with himself, it’s been like that from the very beginning.

He runs his hands through Dean’s short hair and pulls on it lightly like he’d done last time they kissed. Just like last time it causes Dean to moan, and then they’re kissing again. Castiel deepens the kiss this time, and he’d almost forgotten how good Dean tastes. He notices his pants tightening rapidly and remembers the awkward position he’s in. There’s no way Dean isn’t going to notice with him practically sitting on his lap right now.

He feels Dean move his hands from his back down to grip his hips. It feels so good having Dean’s callused hands gripping him like that, and he inadvertently grinds his hips into Dean. He can tell Dean is just as turned on as he is when he feels them press together. A loud groan rips its way out of Dean’s throat, and that alone is almost enough to make him come undone.

Before he gets the chance to grind down on Dean a second time, the alarm on his phone goes off. He comes crashing back to reality at the blaring sound signaling the seven minutes are over. _Fuck. What are they doing?_

Castiel reaches up to turn the light on, and he can see panic on Dean’s face that probably mirrors his own. He gets up and then holds out a hand to help Dean up. He doesn’t know what he’s supposed to say. He catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror and curses when he sees his messed up hair and puffy lips. Everyone is going to know they kissed!

Dean looks similarly disheveled, but somehow still looks attractive and in control of himself. How is that possible? He looks towards Dean and opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.

“It’s okay, Cas,” Dean says quietly.

“No it isn’t,” Castiel turns back to the mirror and runs a hand through his hopeless hair, trying to pat it down into some sort of order. He doesn’t notice how Dean flinches when he says that.

“It’s dark outside,” Dean says. “Nobody is going to notice anything. And if someone says anything, just say it’s the alcohol.” Castiel feels himself start to panic. His chest is tightening, and he's having trouble breathing. “Hey, Cas.” He can hear Dean trying to calm him down, but he can’t focus on anything except the blinding panic. He feels Dean pull him into a hug, and Castiel holds onto him like he’s drowning. “Breathe with me,” Dean whispers. “You can do it.”

He focuses all of his attention on the feeling of Dean’s chest rising and falling slowly under his cheek. He can hear Dean’s heart beating a steady rhythm that matches the calmness of his breaths. Castiel can feel himself calm down slowly, his muscles starting to relax. “That’s it,” Dean says, and Castiel thinks he feels the soft press of lips to his hair but he can’t be sure.

Knocking on the door disrupts the moment, and the two of them jump apart. “Occupied!” Dean shouts.

“Your seven minutes is up. It’s our turn.” That’s Gabriel’s voice. They must’ve gone a full five rounds without them in the time they were in the bathroom. Dean raises his eyebrows at him as if to ask if he’s okay. Castiel takes one last look in the mirror. He still looks like a mess, but there’s not much he can do about that now. He nods, and Dean opens up the door to let Gabriel in with Kali. Crowley is not going to be happy about that.

He and Dean part ways awkwardly once they leave the bathroom. Castiel looks over to the bonfire and sees that all of his friends have left. The game must’ve fizzled out. He knows he can’t disappear to his bedroom while the party is still going on, but the last thing he wants to do right now is entertain people. He picks up the discarded tequila bottle on the blanket and sees that there’s still a decent amount left. He takes a long pull from the bottle, wincing at the taste. He takes the bottle over to the gazebo where the whiteboard still stands outlining the rules of the bet.

Castiel knows he’s being a bad host by hiding out and waiting for the party to wind down, but the only thing he wants to do right now is drink until he can’t think about how much better his kisses with Dean were than the one he'd shared with Lisa.

Saturday, October 31

9:25pm

* * *

Dean walks around the backyard aimlessly while he looks for Benny or any of his friends. He’s still reeling from the full blown make-out session he’d just had with Cas. That was so far beyond practice kissing. It had been incredible, but as usual it left Dean wanting more. Holding Cas on top of him like that had felt so right, and when he’d ground down on him… _Fuck_. He needs to stop thinking about it unless he wants the whole grade to see him walking around with a stiffy.

Before he can sneak back to the guesthouse to take matters into his own hands, he feels someone bump into him from behind.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there.” It’s Lisa from the spin-the-bottle game. Dean had thought she was attractive from across the circle, but she's even prettier up close. She seems out of breath like she’d just been running from something. “We didn’t officially meet. I’m Lisa.”

“Dean.” He shakes hands with her, noticing how soft her skin is against his rough palm. “Who were you running from?”

“Those two boys, Crowley and Brady,” she laughs. “But I think I lost them.”

“Is that a good thing?” Dean asks.

_Please say yes. Please say yes._

“Yes,” she sighs. “I mean, they’re cool and everything, but they’re a little… intense.”

“They’re a lot of things,” Dean says. “All of which are worth running from.” Lisa giggles, and he can’t help but think it’s the prettiest laugh he’s ever heard. “So are you enjoying my party?”

“This is your party? I thought it was Castiel’s." Lisa scrunches up her eyebrows, confused.

Dean tries his best not to make his voice sound bitter. “We co-hosted it. I live right over there.” He points towards the guest house.

“Oh right,” she says. “Castiel seems fun. I hung out with him for a bit at the charity benefit and thought he seemed cool. You know, for a Hancock boy.” She winks at him and lightly shoves his arm.

The loud sound of microphone feedback comes from the DJ booth on the other side of the yard. Dean looks over to where people are gathered around the dance floor. “Want to see what’s going on over there?” He asks.

“Sure, but I can’t promise I’ll like it,” Lisa smiles when Dean laughs. Cute and funny. He can deal with that.

“Happy Halloween, everyone!” The DJ shouts into the microphone. “Are you having fun tonight?” The crowd cheers. “I have one last song to play, and I want to make it count. I have two gift certificates to Biggerson’s right here that will go to the couple with the best moves.”

Dean leans in towards Lisa so she’ll be able to hear him. “Those are ours!” 

After the first beat of Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off, the crowd explodes. Everyone tosses their cumbersome masks, capes, and wings to the side of the dance floor and starts going crazy. Dean doesn’t often get the chance to show it, but he’s actually a pretty good dancer. He pulls out as many moves as he can to try and impress the judges who are walking around the dance floor trying to pick a winning couple.

He looks over at Lisa who is doing some crazy gymnastic moves in her Tinker Bell costume. She’s very bendy!

He notices Crowley, Gabriel, and Brady gyrating around a group of girls on the opposite side of the dance floor. He sees them glance over at him a few times, pointing to Lisa. He can tell they’re impressed by his dancing partner, which makes him want to dance even better. He wishes Castiel was here to see him, but his neighbor is nowhere to be found.

The music stops, and the DJ prepares to call out the winners. “And the winner is…” He plays a drumroll sound effect. “The Tinker Bell and the demon!” The rest of the crowd applauds politely, disappointed they hadn’t been called. Lisa squeals, and Dean barely has time to catch her as she jumps into his arms. He twirls her around once before putting her down so they can go grab their prizes. 

When they get back to the edge of the dance floor after grabbing their prizes Lisa tries to hand hers to Dean. “No, I can’t take both,” Dean says. “You earned it!”

“Keep it,” she smiles. “You can use it when you take me out to dinner and a movie sometime.” His eyes widen, but she just winks and skips off to meet up with her friends as they’re about to leave. He is in way over his head. 


	13. Shimmering, Beautiful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean looks down at his feet. “I don’t know. I thought you could use a friend.”
> 
> Castiel narrows his eyes. “What’s in it for you?”
> 
> “A friend,” Dean replies simply.

Monday, November 2

9:00am

* * *

“What could this emergency assembly possibly be about?” Castiel whispers to Balthazar. The weekend after the party had been filled with lots of candy and post-party gossip. Nobody was in the mood to be at school today, much less to be forced to go to a lecture.

Principal Richings stands by the stage holding a black bag for everyone to put their cell phones into as they walk past. The principal has said that ringing cell phones during an auditorium assembly are only slightly less distracting than someone walking in late. This is their newest policy to combat that.

Castiel sits down on a cushioned theater seat in between Crowley and Gabriel. The two of them purposefully left seats in between them so they wouldn’t have to sit next to each other. Things have been extra frosty between them since the party. Kali and Gabriel seemed to really hit it off, and Crowley is not pleased. Castiel’s sure that it’s less to do with him being upset about Kali not liking him and more to do with him being upset that she chose Gabriel over him. It’s a bruise to his big ego.

Crowley plays off his hurt by snickering with his new best friend, Brady. Castiel rolls his eyes. He can’t believe Crowley is so taken by a douchebag like Brady. Normally he’d ask him why, but they’re not speaking. Castiel is mad that Crowley spent more time at the party with Brady than with him. Balthazar is still upset that he missed the party entirely, and he’s sulking in the seat just to the left of Castiel because he hates being on the outside of all of their inside jokes. Everyone is fighting.

“Boys,” Principal Richings adjusts the microphone. He scans the room while he waits for everyone to be quiet. “I’ll get right to the point. Last week some serious violations were brought to my attention. What started out as a few attention-starved boys prancing around in tasteless outfits spread through the halls of our school like the flu, and by lunchtime the entire grade was rated R for partial nudity.”

Castiel reaches for his phone to shoot off an ‘OMG’ text to Balthazar and Gabriel, but realizes as he reaches into his pocket that he’d handed it in before the assembly. He’s forced to resort to other means of communication, so he pinches Balthazar’s thigh. Balthazar responds by squeezing his arm.

“I had to listen to dozens of angry parents complain about the message we’re sending at this school and this led to us having to hold an emergency board meeting. Eventually we came to a decision.”

Gabriel reaches his arm behind Castiel’s head to gently tug on his hair. Castiel in turn grips the back of Gabriel’s polo shirt collar. He has no idea what Mr. Death is going to say next, but he doubts it’ll be good.

“It gives me great pain to announce…” He pauses, and quiet murmurs fill the auditorium. “Hancock is going to implement an official uniform.” The assembly hall erupts into a chorus of “no way’s!” and “not fair’s,” but Principal Richings clears his throat to silence everyone. “I don’t know who I’m more disappointed in, the boys who started this or the ones who followed them.” He shakes his head sadly and steps back from the podium.

The sound of shifting chairs fills the silence as every student in the junior class turns to glare at Castiel. He feels a wave of heat rush down his body. For the first time in his life, he wishes he wasn’t the center of attention, but unfortunately he is.

Monday, November 2

10:01am

* * *

Castiel is safe for the moment. The last stall in the teacher’s private bathroom is the only thing standing between him and a mob of angry juniors. He’s not sure exactly how much blame the other students are going to put on him, but he didn’t want to wait around after the assembly to find out. As soon as Principal Richings had clapped his hands and announced the assembly to be over, Castiel had squeezed his way through the crowd and ducked out of the emergency exit undetected. He’d been so desperate to get out of there that he’d even left behind his cell phone in the bag. Oh well, he’ll just have to buy another one after school.

Castiel closes his eyes and imagines an angry rush of students in uniforms forcing him away from his usual table at the cafeteria and him having to eat in the teachers’ lounge for protection. His imagination continues to run away from him to the point where he’s holding back tears. He hears the bathroom door creak open and someone step inside. He lifts his feet up onto the toilet seat so whoever it is won’t be able to see him if they peak under the stall.

He does his best to stay as quiet and still as he can, holding his breath for almost a minute straight. Whoever came into the bathroom isn’t using the sink or toilet. They seem to be standing completely still for whatever reason. _Could they just leave?_

This standoff is making Castiel tense. He realizes he’d rather get caught by whoever it is than have to continue this nerve-racking game of hide-and-seek. He lowers himself off of the toilet quietly. Once both of his feet are back on the ground, he leans down so he can take a peek under the stall.

He screeches embarrassingly when he sees the big green eye staring back at him from under the stall.

“Ahhh!” The eye screeches back. After taking a moment the eye says, “Open the door.” Castiel recognizes that gruff voice. It’s Dean.

“Is it safe?” Castiel whispers.

“Yeah,” Dean whispers back. “All of the teachers are outside trying to break up the protest.”

“Protest?”

“Yeah, Benny and Garth are leading a March for Uniform Reform. You can see them from the window. Come on!” Castiel opens the door slowly, but doesn’t bother looking outside.

“Does everyone want to kill me?” He asks and then immediately regrets it because his voice sounds super insecure and needy.

“Luke and Marv said something about finding you and stringing you up on the flagpole by your tie, but I think you could take them. Balthazar and Gabriel are worried about you.”

“What about Crowley?” Castiel wishes he hadn’t asked that, but it’s too late to take it back now.

Dean shakes his head. “I saw him with that douchebag Brady getting coffees at the café on my way over here. By the way, here’s your phone.” Dean hands him his cellphone. Castiel thinks that might be the most thoughtful thing anyone’s ever done for him, but he doesn’t say anything. “I’m alone,” Dean continues. “You don’t have to worry about anything.” Dean is quiet for a moment and then chuckles, “Isn’t it funny that we’re going to end up wearing the same outfit every day now?” Castiel wants to fling his phone at Dean’s head at that horrible thought, but then he sees Dean’s smile and can’t help smiling back.

“I’d rather shave my head than have to wear the same starchy shirt and khaki pants as everyone else.” Castiel scratches his leg absentmindedly.

“You should get to pick the uniforms,” Dean says. “You have the best style out of everyone.”

_That would be a perfect way to salvage this horrible situation_ , Castiel thinks. Then everyone would be wearing something _he_ chose.

“I’ll talk to Assistant Principal Tessa about it. My parents donate enough money to this school, I bet she’ll let me.” Castiel hopes his voice doesn’t betray his excitement at the possibilities. “By the way, why did you follow me here?”

Dean looks down at his feet. “I don’t know. I thought you could use a friend.”

Castiel narrows his eyes. “What’s in it for you?”

“A friend,” Dean replies simply. His answer is so innocent that it catches Castiel off guard. He folds his arms and searches Dean’s face for any signs of insincerity on his face. He can’t find any.

“If you want to, you can come over to my house after school tomorrow, and we can study together,” Castiel says and is surprised to hear the words come out of his mouth. Dean looks just as surprised to hear them. “You know, so our dads keep thinking we’re friends.” Dean looks upset for a second, but then quickly schools his expression into a smile. This time it doesn’t reach his eyes.

Castiel wants to tell him how grateful he is that Dean went out of his way to do something kind for him. He wants to tell him how much he enjoys spending time with him. He wants to tell him how much he enjoys kissing him. But he can’t say any of those things, so he leaves the bathroom without looking back.

Monday, November 2

12:23pm

* * *

Castiel waits for Crowley, Balthazar, and Gabriel to set up their lunches at the table before he speaks. “I have an update that’s worth ten gossip credits.”

“Ten credits?” Crowley raises his eyes skeptically. Castiel knows he’s asking for a lot, but this news is big.

“It’ll go public at an assembly tomorrow morning, but if you want to hear it before then, it’ll cost you ten.”

“Done!” Crowley, Gabriel, and Balthazar say at the same time.

“Done!” Brady says a few seconds later.

“Is there an echo in here?” Castiel pretends to look around in confusion. “I thought I heard an extra ‘done’.” If he was speaking to Crowley he would’ve asked why the hell Brady is sitting with them. “Anyways,” he continues. “After the assembly when everyone was outside protesting-“

“Yeah, where were you?” Gabriel asks.

“I went straight to Assistant Principal Tessa’s office to talk to her about the whole uniform thing.” Castiel decides to leave out the part where he was hiding in the bathroom like a wimp. He also doesn’t bother telling them about how he’d asked if he could design the uniforms himself because her answer had been no. “Tessa agreed to let whoever wins the election for class president to choose the uniform.” The vote for class president is going to be this Saturday, and originally Castiel had no plans of running for the position, but that’s changed now that uniforms are on the line. He shouldn’t have any problem winning, because he is popular after all, but he does know he’s joining the race last minute and has to make up for lost time.

The boys at the table all groan at the thought of their fashion futures being reduced to a vote for the normally useless position of class president. Crowley was already in the running for president with Brady as his running mate. Castiel had been pissed when he found that out earlier today when he’d walked past a poster announcing their campaign on the wall. Even though they weren’t talking at the moment, Castiel still considers Crowley his best friend, and it hurts to see him not only choose _Brady_ of all people as his running mate but also that he didn’t even bother to tell him about it.

He normally wouldn’t want to go head to head against one of his friends like this, but Crowley is on thin ice as it is. “I hope I’m not stepping on your toes when I say I’ve decided to run for the position as well,” Castiel turns towards Crowley when he speaks. It’s the first time he’s spoken directly to him since the party.

“No worries, I always appreciate a good challenge,” Crowley grins at him but his smile comes across as more predatory than kind. Crowley’s phone buzzes before Castiel has a chance to reply. “Oh look, it’s from Kali.” Gabriel stiffens, but Brady leans in to see what Kali sent. “She wants to know what’s up.”

“Cute,” Brady punches Crowley’s arm playfully. Gabriel is now fully scowling down at his tray, not even bothering to eat his cookie. Gabriel only doesn’t feel like eating sweets when he’s pissed or depressed.

“Castiel, she’s asking if you’re around,” Brady says, reading over Crowley’s shoulder.

_Why couldn’t it be Lisa?_

“Castiel, she’s asking me to thank you for the party,” Crowley relays. “They all had a blast.”

“She’s sweet,” Brady giggles, and Castiel barely stops himself from rolling his eyes. “I’m sure she’ll make _one_ of you very happy.” Crowley and Gabriel shoot glares at each other, and Castiel wants to bang his head repeatedly against the cafeteria table. He is so tired of this constant fighting between the two of them.

“Whatever,” Crowley delicately picks something out of his teeth with a toothpick. “I don’t want your sloppy seconds,” he says pointedly towards Gabriel. He’s obviously still bitter that the two of them got to play Seven Minutes in Heaven at the party. “I’m going to go work on my campaign for the rest of our time. I’ve still got soooo much left to do before the vote on Saturday.” That reminds Castiel, he has so much to do this week if he’s going to launch a successful campaign in a matter of days.

Castiel pushes himself up from his seat to throw away his trash. Balthazar and Gabriel follow quickly behind him. “Is it safe to assume you guys are going to work for my campaign instead of Crowley’s?” Castiel tries to keep his voice from sounding nervous, but he also doesn’t know how his friends feel about the fight that’s brewing between himself and Crowley.

“Definitely,” Gabriel shoves his cookie angrily into his mouth and then continues to speak with his mouth full. “I’m so tired of him trying to snake Kali away from me. The two of us have obviously been connecting recently, and I don’t think he even likes her. He’s just trying to piss me off.” Castiel doesn’t point out that if Crowley is indeed just trying to piss Gabe off, then it’s working. He’s just happy Gabe has chosen to team up with him.

“I’m in too,” Balthazar says. “I don’t have anything against Crowley, but I can’t stand Brady.”

“Good,” Castiel sighs in relief. “We’ve got a lot to do by the election, but I’m sure we can do it.” They head off on their separate ways to the next class.

While he’s in Algebra class, Castiel can’t help it when his thoughts drift. He’s always hated math, and thinking about other things is preferable. It seems like everyone in the grade pretty much has fallen for Kali’s mysterious charms except for Castiel and Balthazar. Castiel won’t deny that she’s gorgeous, but she honestly intimidates him a little bit. Lisa on the other hand is beautiful and sweet. Where Kali is all fashionable elegance and style, Lisa is a more understated sort of beauty. She wears simple t-shirts and jeans, and that’s all she has to do because she’s a complete ten.

His cat, Angel, is the only living being who knows that he's had his eyes on her. He hates how pathetic Gabriel and Crowley are acting right now, sacrificing their friendship fighting over a girl who may not even like either of them back. For right now he’s going to keep his interest to himself. At least until he can figure out if Lisa is interested in him back.

When he gets home from school, he tries to think of an excuse to message Lisa. He has her email saved to his phone from when she’d RSVP’d to the party. After thirty minutes of writing and erasing his message, he comes up with:

**Hey, Lisa,**

**I think you may have left your Tinker Bell wings at my house after the party. Lilith was the only other girl dressed as a fairy, and I’d rather not call her because she scares me. She stares at everyone like a demon who wants to possess them haha**

**-CN**

He rereads his message three times before finally sending it. He really hopes she hadn’t actually lost her wings because he doesn’t have any to give her. His email pings almost immediately with a reply. Castiel takes a deep breath before opening it.

**CN,**

**I have my wings, thanks. I LOL’ed when I read that about Lilith. I’ve always thought the same thing. She’s a bit intense. Hey, there’s a rumor going around school that you guys are going uniform. Is that true? Also heard it’s your fault. If it is, that’s pretty cool. I like troublemakers ;)**

**-L**

She’s definitely flirting with him! Castiel knows he needs to send her something else because it could be weeks before he gets the chance to see her in person again. He gets up and begins to pace around his room, trying to think of something to say.

**It’s a great story. Call me if you want to hear it. If not, I’ll see you soon!**

**-CN**

Castiel is proud of his response. It’s an invitation for her to talk to him, but at the same time it doesn’t make it seem like he’s desperate to talk to her.

His phone rings a minute later.

“Hi, Castiel?”

“Hey Lisa.” He’s so nervous he keeps pacing around the room, but in the end his nerves aren’t necessary. They talk about everything and nothing at the same time. Their classes, their families, their favorite TV shows and music. There are only a couple awkward pauses during the entire thirty minute conversation. If Naomi hadn’t called him to dinner, he’s sure they would’ve been able to talk all night.

When he hangs up the phone, he’s so happy he feels like he might burst. They hadn’t made actual plans to hang out again, but Lisa said she’d call him again soon. He closes the blinds to his room just in case Dean happens to look over. He doesn’t want anyone to witness his dorky victory dance. As happy as he is, he can’t help wishing he didn’t have to celebrate alone.

Tuesday, November 3

7:36pm

* * *

Dean tries his best not to stare at Castiel sitting across the table from him while he attempts to slug through his algebra homework. To be honest Dean doesn’t give a shit about that. He doesn’t have plans to go to college after graduating, so all he really needs to do is pass. The main reason he took Castiel up on his offer to work together is because he wants to spend more one-on-one time with him. And that is all kinds of pathetic.

“So I heard you’re running for class president now?” Dean asks trying to break the awkward silence in the room.

“Yep,” Castiel replies simply. He doesn’t seem to be in the mood for a conversation it seems.

Ever since Assistant Principal Tessa had announced that the newly elected class president would be in charge of picking the new uniforms, everyone at school became super competitive and paranoid. The cafeteria was practically silent during lunch with everyone retreating inside their heads to work on their campaigns. Apparently more people were running for president now than had ever run before.

Once again, Dean thinks back to his school in Lawrence. When they’d had elections for class positions at his old school, everyone formed groups and worked together to come up with fun ideas. Here at Hancock, where the students are sons of CEOs, politicians, and celebrities nobody cares about having fun. They only care about winning.

For the next half hour, the two of them work in silence. Dean obviously isn’t planning on running for president. 1. Because nobody would vote for him outside of his close friend group, so he would have absolutely no shot at winning, and 2. Because he knows holding a position in class government takes up a lot of extra time, and he’s not about that. He likes to go to school, play soccer afterwards, and come home to relax after spending the bare minimum of time on his homework. He’s not going to sign up for extra work just to force the entire school to wear flannels. Though it would be pretty hilarious to see Castiel and Crowley forced to wear flannel to school every day.

Eventually Dean decides to try and sneak a peek at Castiel. The other boy is working on various campaign poster designs and making notes to himself. He’s dressed in grey sweatpants and a red t-shirt. Dean can’t help but think that even when Castiel looks ready to go to sleep, he’s still attractive. Maybe even more attractive than when he’s dressed in his normal expensively tailored suits and vests.

“I can see you watching me,” Castiel says without turning his head. Dean blushes at being caught staring.

“Huh? No.” Dean turns his head back to his barely started math homework. He wishes he could enlist Benny to help, but Benny and Garth have already decided they’re going to run for president as a form of protest to try and block the uniform idea from happening at all. That means Benny is going to be off-limits as far as having the time to spend helping Dean through his homework until after the election is over. 

The hours pass by while they both work. Castiel has an alternative rock playlist on quietly in the background. It’s not the sort of classic rock that Dean prefers to listen to, but he appreciates that Cas at least isn’t into pop hits like the rest of his friends are.

Castiel’s phone rings then, and he turns the music down a bit. “Hey, Crowley.”

Dean notices that Castiel sounds cold towards his best friend, and he wonders if they’re still fighting over the whole Brady situation.

“What’s up?” Castiel asks. “Yeah I think Kali is cool I guess… Why? Did you find out who she likes?” Dean tries to make it look like he isn’t eavesdropping on the conversation, but then again Castiel isn’t trying to hide it or anything. “What about Lisa? Does she like anyone?” Dean stops even pretending to work on his homework. “No, I don’t like Lisa. I was just asking cause I thought Brady did… well he was chasing her around at the party a lot… Lisa likes someone?”

_Who?_ Dean mouths to himself.

“Who?” Castiel asks. “Well find out! Look I have to get back to work, but I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Try to find out okay?”

Dean’s stomach is in knots. He had a feeling he and Lisa had connected at the party, but this proves it. He still needs more information though. “Sounds like you and Crowley are friends again,” Dean fishes.

“Not officially,” Castiel sits back down to start working again. “But he has the best gossip, and I need to be plugged in right now.”

“Why?” He asks innocently. “Is something going on?”

“He wouldn’t tell me over the phone.” Castiel sounds irritated.

“Oh,” Dean hopes he won’t pick up on his disappointment.

Castiel yawns. “I’m pretty tired, I think I’m going to call it a night.” Castiel puts his campaign posters to the side and covers them up with some newspapers.

“Are you done already?”

“No. I’ll finish it up tomorrow. Meet me here again tomorrow afternoon?” Dean thinks Castiel intended it to come across as a statement, but it comes across more like a question.

“I’ll see you after school,” Dean says and packs up his supplies to head back to the guest house. For some reason, Castiel doesn’t mind having him around while they’re working. He doesn’t even care what prompted Cas’s change of heart about him, but he’s going to do whatever he can to not mess it up.

Dean runs all the way back to the guest house. This time he isn’t running because he’s afraid there’s someone lurking in the dark who will try to kidnap him, but because Castiel is finally being nice to him and Lisa has a secret crush. He has a feeling that he’s the one Lisa likes, and that makes him feel like running.

Wednesday, November 4

12:15pm

* * *

Castiel walks briskly through the hallways of Hancock, his trench coat flowing behind him like a cape. He’s in a hurry to find Crowley, who for some reason is not answering his cell phone. He tries to pick up his pace to walk even faster. If he can just confirm that the mysterious guy Lisa has a crush on is him, then he can open up to everyone about his new crush.

After a few minutes of fruitless searching, he decides to give up. He doesn’t want to end up at the end of the line in the cafeteria.

He sees Balthazar in the line when he gets to the lunchroom, so he strides right up to him, cutting a group of freshmen. They start to complain, but he silences them with a glare. “Zar,” he pants, “Have you seen Crowley today? He’s not answering his phone.”

“No,” Balthazar squints at him in confusion. “I don’t think he’s back from that sale he said he was going to go to this morning.”

“Wasn’t that at eight this morning? Shouldn’t he be back?”

“Yeah, but Brady wasn’t in chemistry today so I’m guessing they’re still in the city,” Balthazar says.

“Wait, he went with _Brady_?”

“I thought you knew that,” Balthazar sounds concerned, but Castiel can barely focus on him. His ears are ringing, and he feels like he’s in a wind tunnel. He usually knows where Crowley is at all times. They tell each other everything and always have since they were kids. Now the only thing he knows is that he doesn’t know anything at all.

Even though his ears are still ringing, he hears a voice ask, “Where is Castiel Novak? This is an emergency!”

He can’t believe he’s seconds away from having to deal with an ‘emergency’ on top of everything else. “This year sucks,” he sighs to Balthazar.

“It’s about to get worse,” Balthazar nudges him. “Look who it is.”

“You are not going to believe this!” Dean hisses as he comes to a stop next to Castiel in line. “Your campaign posters are gone.”

Castiel shoots an apologetic look to Balthazar and then drags Dean to an empty table so they can have some privacy. “What do you mean, _gone_?”

“My dad needed me to take something over to your house this morning, and when I went in I saw that they weren’t where you’d left them last night. Hester must’ve thrown them away! She probably thought they were trash,” Dean says.

“Why would she think that??”

“Because you covered them up in newspapers for some reason,” Dean rolls his eyes at him. Normally Castiel would try to say something mean to get back at Dean for that eye roll, but he’s too freaked out to bother. “You made yours pretty quickly,” Dean tries to comfort him. “You can probably start over.”

“That’s in three days! Do I look like I’m from Moscow?”

“No,” Dean replies hesitantly.

“Then why do you think I’d be into Russian?” Dean laughs at his corny joke, and Castiel smiles back. He’d tried the joke out on Gabriel and Balthazar the other day, but neither of them thought it was funny.

“Maybe if I helped you…” Dean starts.

“Not a chance!”

“Hmm,” Dean shoots him a look like he knows something he doesn’t know. Castiel hates that look!

“What?” He asks impatiently.

“Never mind,” Dean says. “You’d never go for it.”

“Dean, spit it out I’m growing gray hairs over here.”

“What if I said we could call off the bet if you let me be your VP. I mean we’re tied anyways.” Castiel thinks for a moment. They may be tied now, but he knows there’s no way he’ll be able to beat Dean if Dean really wants to win. Dean’s giving him an out, and he’s going to take it. “But you’d have to partner with me for real this time,” Dean continues. “Not like it was for the Halloween party.”

“Okay fine I’ll do it,” Castiel watches as Dean’s smile lights up his whole face. “But we’re not doing flannel!”

“You secretly love my flannel, and you know it,” Dean laughs and then gets up to head over to Benny’s table. Castiel has to admit that the flannel _has_ grown on him and so has the boy who wears it.


	14. You Are Not Like The Regulars

Friday, November 6

5:18pm

* * *

Castiel struggles to carry the five huge shopping bags he’s holding as he walks through the mall to get back to the car. Crowley, Balthazar, and Gabriel are also struggling. The four of them had been shopping for outfits for the election tomorrow.

“They should have shopping carts in malls,” Gabriel whines. “Imagine how much more we’d be able to buy if we didn’t have to carry it all.”

“Or we could hire a shopping Sherpa,” Castiel laughs. “Some strong little guy to follow us around all day while we shop and to hold all of our purchases for us.”

“That’s called a boyfriend,” Balthazar says, “And I’m working on it.” The rest of the boys crack up. Castiel keeps laughing after the other boys stop. He’s so happy to have the four of them back together again, and even happier that Crowley is here with Brady nowhere to be seen.

“Where is Brady tonight?” Castiel tries to make his tone sound like he’s genuinely interested.

“He has soccer after school,” Crowley explains.

“The day before the election? You must be pissed.” Of course, Castiel knows Dean also has soccer practice after school, but they’d made plans to put the finishing touches on their campaign tonight at the weekly sleepover.

“It’s fine, Brady is going to sleep over,” Crowley says as if it’s no big deal.

“So you’re not sleeping over at my place tonight?” Castiel tries to sound casual.

“Shit,” Crowley says while avoiding making eye contact with Castiel. “I forgot it was Friday.” He turns to look at Gabe and Balthazar. “Are you guys going?”

“Duh,” Gabriel says, and Balthazar nods.

“I thought you were going to teach Kali how to bake tonight,” Crowley glares at Gabriel.

“No, that’s on Monday.” Gabriel’s cheeks heat up. Their constant fighting is boring Castiel to tears. He tries to pick up the pace so they can get back to the car before things get really ugly.

“Well, I’m sure she’ll tell me all about it when we drive into the city together next Wednesday,” Crowley says smugly.

“You’re driving to the city on a school night?”

“Who are you, my mother?” Crowley scoffs.

_Could they just stop fighting? Is that too much to ask?_ Castiel shoots a look in Balthazar’s direction, and he can see that he’s equally pissed off about this never-ending fight. 

“Would you guys just get over her already?” Balthazar screeches. “She’s playing you guys.”

“She may be playing Crowley, but she actually likes me,” Gabe huffs.

Once they finally get to the car, Castiel motions for them to wait before getting in. He pulls his phone out and brings up Kali’s contact information. “Zar’s right, she’s playing you. I’ll prove it,” Castiel says. “Gabe, you have plans with her Monday?” Gabriel nods. Castiel sends Kali a message on his phone, and the other boys crowd around him trying to see.

**Castiel: What are you doing Monday after school?**

**Kali: Gonna do some baking I think**

Gabe smiles so wide that Castiel can see all of his teeth. “See?” He says to Crowley.

**Castiel: Parents are going away so I was going to have a hot tub party**

**Kali: Who’s going?**

**Castiel: Me ;)**

**Kali: What time?**

“What time were you supposed to bake together?” Castiel asks Gabriel.

“4:30,” Gabriel mutters. He’s starting to look a little nervous.

**Castiel: 4:30**

**Kali: I’ll be there!**

“Looks like we have our answer,” Crowley says. “She obviously doesn’t like you very much.”

Castiel turns to Crowley. “What time were you supposed to go to the city together?”

“Six.”

Castiel sends another text to Kali.

**Castiel: Sorry, I made a mistake. Hot tub on Wednesday at 6. Still cool?**

**Kali: Wouldn’t miss it!**

“And that, gentlemen, is what we call a player,” Balthazar chuckles. Crowley and Gabriel are both silent and can’t even look at each other. Crowley crosses and uncrosses his arms, and Gabriel pops a couple candies in his mouth and chews thoughtfully.

“I can’t believe her!” Gabriel sighs. “She was so excited to hang out with me.”

“Yeah,” Crowley says. “About as excited as she was to hang out with me.”

“I’m such an idiot,” Gabriel pulls another candy bar out of his pocket. He offers it to Crowley, but Crowley shakes his head.

“For thinking Kali would like you?” Crowley asks.

“No, for letting a girl come between us,” Gabriel says. “Truce?”

“Truce,” Crowley agrees. The two of them vow to never let a girl come between them again, and Castiel can’t help but take a deep breath in relief. He hated watching two of his best friends constantly be at each other’s throats. He’s glad that for now at least the fighting is over.

“Does that mean you guys would be willing to help out with my campaign?” Castiel asks as he gets into the back of the car. Inias turns down the music he’s been listening to so he won’t annoy the boys, but Castiel just smiles at him and raises the partition so he can play his music as loudly as he wants to.

“Does this mean we have to be nice to Dean?” Balthazar asks.

“I hope not,” Gabriel says. “I’m still mad at him for IM’ing us from Castiel’s computer and making us think you hated us.”

Castiel sighs. “Just give him a chance, okay? What he did was wrong, but we were mean to him first.”

“Who are you and what have you done with Castiel?” Crowley asks, but Castiel ignores him.

They spend the ride home singing along to the radio and gossiping about the other guys in school like always, but this time it feels different. It’s the first time Crowley is going to miss one of Castiel’s weekly sleepovers. They stop at the gates to Crowley’s mansion, and Inias helps him with all of his bags.

“Have fun! I’ll miss you guys,” he waves to them. “I hate that I have to compete against my best friends.” He makes a pouty frown, but something about it strikes Castiel as insincere. Crowley’s hazel eyes are sparkling a little too much for someone who is supposedly upset. Gabriel and Balthazar might buy his crocodile tears, but Castiel doesn’t.

Saturday, November 7

6:45pm

* * *

Backstage, everyone who’s running for president is panicking. Some of them have stage fright and others are worried about the speeches they’d prepared. Dean stands next to the refreshments table and pops another miniature Philly cheesesteak in his mouth. He doesn’t have to do anything besides stand on stage next to Castiel, so he’s not worried.

Speaking of Castiel, the raven haired boy steps up next to Dean holding a bottle of water. “Well, this is it.” He looks incredible today. He always looks good, but he looks extra presidential in his navy suit and maroon tie. His usually messy hair has been slightly gelled to keep it from going all over the place like it naturally does.

“You look really good,” Dean says before he can catch himself. He coughs and blushes slightly.

“Thanks,” Castiel says quietly, but gives him a small smile. “What happened to your hands?”

Dean looks down at his cheese-covered hands and then points to the refreshments table. Castiel chuckles. He’s been doing that more and more recently, and Dean loves the sound. “I had a lot of fun last night,” Dean says, and he means it. Last night’s sleepover had gone much more smoothly than that first horrible sleepover he went to a couple months ago. It helped that Crowley wasn’t there this time.

“Yeah, it was fun,” Castiel sounds surprised. “I can’t believe we stayed up until four a.m. finishing everything. Thank god for Red Bull!”

“And Gabriel’s farts!” Dean laughs. “Those kept me awake for hours.” Castiel cracks up, his blue eyes crinkling.

Dean rubs his sleepy eyes. Even though he’s exhausted, he feels better than he has in a long time. “Well at least they finally forgave me for sending those IM’s.”

“And all you had to do was finish their homework while they threw popcorn at each other and watched Naked and Afraid for three hours,” Castiel laughs.

“It was worth it,” Dean says and Castiel grins so wide, he feels blinded. Normally when Cas smiles, it’s a subtle, difficult to notice thing. This is a full grin. Dean can’t help smiling back.

Castiel reads through his speech one more time, even though he had the entire thing memorized by midnight last night. Dean admires the way he puts all of his effort into things. Sometimes his competitiveness can be problematic, but Dean also is inspired by his work ethic. They’d somehow managed to form a fully-fledged student government campaign in less than a week.

Dean peeks a look around the curtain and can see that the auditorium is packed with their fellow students and a handful of parents. Now he understands why people are getting stage fright. As impressed as he is by the turnout, he only really cares about seeing one person. He searches the audience, looking for that silky black hair and bright smile, but he doesn’t see her. It’s not like he’d asked Lisa to come, but he was hoping she would.

Principal Richings has everybody line up in the order that they’ll appear on stage. Castiel and Dean are last. “I hope people don’t fall asleep before our turn,” Dean whispers.

“Trust me, we’re in the best position,” Castiel replies. “Right after we go, the audience votes so they’ll have ours at the front of their minds.”

“Wow, we got lucky!”

“It wasn’t luck. I asked Tessa yesterday if we could have this spot,” Castiel pulls out his phone to put it on silent and then returns it to his pocket. Dean is impressed again at how he seems to have thought of every possible scenario. It’s a bit obsessive, but it’s also kind of endearing.

The background music that had been playing while everyone found their seats stops abruptly, and the lights in the auditorium dim. Principal Richings takes the stage and taps on the microphone to make sure it’s working. Dean scans the line to get a glimpse of their competition.

Benny and Garth are standing next to each other with Andrea and Becky by their sides. Dean knows that Garth and Becky are already official, but Benny and Andrea are still just casually dating. Becky and Garth are swaying on their feet so their shoulders bump into each other. Dean wishes he had someone to bump shoulder with. He immediately thinks of Lisa.

“Good luck,” Benny whispers to Dean when he makes eye contact with him.

“You too,” Dean whispers back, and he means it. He’s missed hanging out with Benny and can’t wait for this whole election thing to be over so things can get back to normal.

Crowley and Brady ooze confidence. They’re both dressed all in black as usual, and they seem incredibly focused. _We’re going to lose_ , Dean can’t help thinking to himself.

“Welcome to the Hancock student body elections,” Principal Richings says. “On behalf of the students who have worked so hard, I would like to thank everyone for coming.” The crowd claps politely. “Well I guess we should get started,” he motions for the first group to step forward.

Andy Gallagher and Ash Harvelle are up first. They stumble through most of their speech, and it’s clear they haven’t practiced much at all. “Next,” Castiel sighs in a bored voice. Adam Milligan runs his platform on the idea that every day should be Taco Tuesday in the cafeteria. Benny and Garth are next, and Dean hopes Castiel likes their presentation. He doesn’t want his friends to be the subjects of Castiel’s and his crew’s ridicule. 

“Hancock is committing a crime by forcing us to abandon our identities during these formative years,” Benny says seriously. “I’ll make it simple for you guys. If we get elected, there will be no uniforms!” The crowd erupts into applause, and Principal Richings runs forward to grab the mic from Benny. The principal ensures the crowd that there will be a uniform policy even if Benny and Garth get elected, but the two of them take an exaggerated bow to the audience while the students continue to cheer.

“That was a pretty gutsy move,” Castiel says, impressed. Dean’s glad the other boy had something nice to say about his friends for once.

Luke and Marv are next. They drone on and on about how it’s time for Hancock to have a new crew in charge. Their entire speech is basically a hit piece on Castiel and his friends without ever mentioning them by name. “Boring,” Castiel mouths to Dean, pretending he’s falling asleep. There’s a smattering of applause from the audience, but nothing like the cheers Benny and Garth got. Principal Richings takes the microphone again when they’re done to reiterate that this isn’t a popularity contest, even though everyone knows that’s exactly what it is.

That’s why it comes as no surprise to anyone that the two finalists are Crowley and Brady against Castiel and Dean. Their campaigns really aren’t that different, probably because they’re best friends. Crowley stands up on stage cool as a cucumber while he delivers his speech. He’s as well-rehearsed as Castiel is. Brady looks slightly nervous, but all in all they give a good presentation.

“Crowley got the idea for joining lunches between the girls’ school and our school from me,” Castiel hisses while the audience claps for Crowley. “I was talking to him about how it’d be cool if we could eat lunch with the girls a few days ago.”

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” Dean shrugs.

“Yeah, but if that wins this for them, I’ll strangle him with his own tie,” Castiel mutters. Dean laughs, but immediately tries to cover it up with a cough when he realizes Cas is being serious.

Now it’s their turn. Dean can tell that the audience is ready for intermission, but he hopes everyone pays attention for their presentation. He can feel the nerves start to kick in, and Castiel must have sensed it because he squeezes Dean’s arm and says, “Let’s crush them!” Dean watches the crowd as Castiel begins his speech. They’re hanging on his every word! Castiel has a strong presence on the stage, and there’s not even a hint of nerves. When he finishes the crowd gives him a standing ovation, and Dean can’t help the huge grin on his face. They have this in the bag!

The bright lights shining in his eyes make it hard for him to see the audience, but one face in the second row is crystal clear. It’s Lisa. She’s clapping enthusiastically and waves when she notices Dean looking towards her. Dean raises his arm and gives a small wave back which causes Lisa’s face to light up in a bright smile. He turns to look at Castiel, desperate for a witness to this moment, but what he sees makes his blood freeze up instantly. Castiel has a smile on his face and is waving towards Lisa. Dean is mortified.

_Lisa likes Castiel, not me! How many people saw me wave at her? What am I supposed to do with my hands now?_

Principal Richings retakes the stage to announce that voting will begin momentarily and last for thirty minutes before they return with the results of who the class president is. “Let’s go vote!” Castiel claps him on the shoulder, but Dean has a hard time forcing his feet to move. He can’t believe he actually thought he stood a chance with Lisa over someone like Castiel. He’s such an idiot.

Saturday, November 7

8:00pm

* * *

Castiel can’t believe he’s standing with his arms around Gabriel, Balthazar, and Dean. _Dean!_ A couple months ago, he wouldn’t have thought it was possible.

“Come on, let’s go vote,” Castiel says, dragging the other boys along with him. He pulls out a piece of blue paper with the same ballot on it as the white ones that are being handed out.

“What are you going to do with that?” Dean asks.

“I’m voting on blue paper for good luck,” he fills out the ballot quickly then puts it in the box with his and Dean’s faces on it.

“Hey Cassie, will you vote for us?” Gabriel asks. “Zar and I have some business to take care of.” The two of them giggle and give their ballots to him.

“Sure,” Castiel says with a knowing smile. Gabriel and Balthazar wink at him and then sneak back into the auditorium.

“Cas, if you guys have another trick to embarrass me in front of…” Dean starts to say. Castiel raises his eyebrows at him. “I’m just saying,” Dean continues, “In the past, you guys have…”

“Fine, I’ll admit it,” Castiel says. “Zar and Gabe have something fantastically nasty planned, but it has nothing to do with you.” Dean looks wary. “Tormenting you was so September,” Castiel continues. “It’s _out_.” He stares directly at Dean, hoping he’ll understand without him having to spell it out.

“Wait,” Dean says, “Does that mean I’m _in_?” His green eyes are wide. Castiel doesn’t answer, he just puts Balthazar’s and Gabriel’s ballots in their box and heads back out to the auditorium. Dean rushes to put his ballot in the box too and follows him out.

Castiel rolls his eyes at Crowley and Brady as they campaign in the lobby for last-minute votes. His first instinct is to campaign harder, but when he looks at both boxes, he realizes it isn’t necessary. He and Dean lead by at least fifty votes. He chuckles when he looks at the picture of him and Dean on the box. He looks very presidential of course, but Dean’s eyes are crossed and his tongue is sticking out. The photographer had offered to retake the picture, but Dean insisted that it would make people laugh. He was right! Castiel watches as a few people walk up to their box and giggle as they cast their votes.

Crowley and Brady walk over to join him by the voting table. “You know, Castiel,” Brady says, “Your team has an advantage since you have four people, and we only have two. You’ll have twice as many family members voting for you guys.”

“Yeah, but you have a plastic surgeon and three of your father’s secret mistresses, so it should probably even out,” Castiel turns and walks away. He hears Crowley snort behind him, and it almost makes him smile. Maybe Crowley is still _his_ Crowley, just buried under his incessant need to win everything.

The lights flicker in the auditorium, signaling that it’s time for everyone to return to their seats. Once everyone is inside Principal Richings heads back up to the microphone. “Can I have the candidates up here onstage?” The boys line up on the stage in the order that they presented in, but this time only the presidential candidates stand up. The vice presidential candidates have all taken seats in the audience. Castiel picks Dean out of the crowd immediately because he’s sitting next to Sam and grinning hugely. Dean gives him a big thumbs up when they make eye contact, and Castiel smiles in return.

“Before we begin, can everyone please silence their cell phones?” Principal Richings pulls out an envelope and prepares to read the results.

At that exact moment, someone’s cell phone rings in the audience. The ring tone is set to Justin Bieber’s Yummy. Everyone laughs and searches for the guilty person. Mr. Death puts his hands on his hips as he scrutinizes the audience.

“It was him!” Becky points at Brady.

“I swear it wasn’t!” Brady’s eyes are wide. “My phone is in my dad’s BMW.” Principal Richings glares at him anyways.

“Before we announce tonight’s winner, I would like to thank Tessa and…”

_Yeah you got that yummy yum that yummy yum that yummy yummy…_

Everyone turns around to look at Brady again. “I swear!” He puts his hands on his heart and laughs nervously.

“Then why are you finding this so funny?” Principal Richings’ eyes narrow.

“I’m not,” Brady blushes and continues to awkwardly giggle.

_Yeah you got that yummy yum that yummy yum that yummy yummy…_

Principal Richings steps down off the stage and heads over to Brady. He forces him to stand up and begins looking around for the offensive cellphone. Everyone in the auditorium starts laughing and cheering, while Brady stands there with his head in his hands. Castiel catches Dean’s eye and points over towards where Gabriel and Balthazar are standing on the edge of the auditorium. Dean turns around and watches as Gabriel dials Brady’s number one more time to see what would happen next. During intermission the two of them had taped the cellphone underneath Brady’s chair.

_Yeah you got that yummy yum that yummy yum that yummy yummy…_

Principal Richings follows the ringing to the bottom of Brady’s chair and yanks the cellphone loose. He holds it up in the air and everyone cheers. Brady just shrugs, but Principal Richings drags him out of the auditorium with one last instruction for Tessa to take over. Castiel looks back at Dean who is covering his mouth and laughing hysterically.

“Sorry about that,” Tessa says awkwardly. “Okay, let’s bring those boxes out here and announce our winner!” Another faculty member brings forward Crowley’s and Castiel’s boxes. “And the winner is…” Tessa pauses for dramatic effect. The auditorium grows so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. “Crowley and Brady with 147 votes! Castiel and Dean come in second with 120 votes. Congratulations everyone!”

Castiel’s mouth drops open in shock. He vaguely notices Crowley taking a bow and the audience cheering loudly, but he feels like he’s watching his body instead of actually experiencing it. This doesn’t make any sense! Dean, Gabriel, and Balthazar rush over to the side of the stage, and Castiel slowly walks down the stairs to meet them. The audience is still cheering.

“How is that possible?” Castiel whispers. He’s totally in shock right now. He thought for sure they were going to win.

“I think all the girls must’ve voted for them,” Balthazar says.

Dean seems to be just as shocked as he is. “But we had _way_ more than them at intermission when we checked.”

When Balthazar and Gabriel see how upset Dean is, they open up their arms to welcome him into their pity hug. If Castiel wasn’t so upset and confused, he’d be happy to see them starting to welcome Dean as part of their group.

Now that the initial shock has worn off, Castiel refuses to look defeated in front of this many people. Especially not in front of Crowley. Instead, he walks towards the boxes to take a closer look at them. This isn’t fair. They’d worked so hard on this campaign, and they’d even had to completely start over after their first set of posters got trashed!

“There has to be a mistake,” he whispers to himself as he leans down to get a closer look at the boxes. His blue ballot is in the box with Crowley and Brady’s picture on it. “Look.” Castiel points out his discovery to the other boys.

“Why did you vote for CROWLEY?” Balthazar snaps.

“I didn’t!” Castiel smacks him lightly on the arm. “Don’t ask stupid questions.”

“They must’ve switched our pictures,” Dean says.

Balthazar gasps, “You’re right!”

“We need to tell Tessa!” Gabriel says. “Quick, grab the microphone!”

“Wait,” Castiel commands. “Don’t tell anyone. Not yet. Let me think.” The other boys exchange looks but don’t say anything. “We need to stay still, crouching in the weeds until the time is right to pounce.”

“You’re officially freaking me out, Cassie,” Gabriel says.

“You have to trust me! I promise we will make them pay for this, but we have to think of the perfect plan.”

“Fine, but I can’t believe we’re going to let him get away with this,” Balthazar crosses his arms.

Castiel hopes his I’ve-got-everything-under-control act is convincing. He feels like he can’t breathe. In the matter of a few minutes Crowley has gone from being his best childhood friend to his biggest enemy, leaving him too angry to be hurt and also too hurt to be angry.

“Hey, Castiel,” Crowley walks up to him backstage as he’s gathering up his things. “You totally gave us a run for our money!” Castiel has a lump in his throat and can barely look Crowley in the eye. “ _Weeds_ ,” he mouths over his shoulder to the other boys, but also as a reminder to himself. “I consider this a win for all of us,” Crowley continues. “I mean, we’re still friends right? I’ll even let you guys help me design the new uniforms if you want.”

“We’re so happy for you,” Castiel grits out through his teeth.

“Oh, by the way, I have some gossip,” Crowley says. “I’m not asking for credits though, consider this one a gift.”

“Okay,” Castiel says, trying his best to sound bored.

“Someone likes you a lot!” Crowley gushes.

“Really? Who?” He tries to sound uninterested, but he can’t help the beginning feelings of hope making themselves known behind his ribs. Lisa likes him. Lisa with those chocolate eyes and gorgeous smile, likes him. Not Crowley or Brady or some obnoxious senior, but _him_.

“Kali,” Crowley says, and Castiel freezes. _What?_ “She likes you! She told me herself, but asked me not to tell anyone so you can’t act like you know.”

“Wait, are you sure?” Castiel asks, but he doesn’t know why he bothers. Crowley’s gossip is always right, and the look on his face shows he’s thinking the same thing. “For some reason I thought you were gonna say Lisa,” Castiel says nonchalantly.

“Oh no, Lisa likes someone else, but she won’t say who,” Crowley says. Castiel looks down at his dark brown dress shoes. Nothing makes sense.

“Seriously, Castiel if you want to try your shot with Kali, I wouldn’t blame you,” Crowley says. “Liking her was so last week.” Castiel gives him a half-smile, but he has no intention on trying to date Kali. He isn’t interested. Plus he’s pretty sure Gabe still has a crush on her.

Castiel leaves Crowley in a daze after making some excuse about having to meet up with his parents. If Lisa doesn’t like him, then who does she like? He’s too exhausted to try and figure it out right now, but he’ll definitely investigate tomorrow.

Saturday, November 7

9:30pm

* * *

Sam stands and raises his strawberry milkshake in the air. “I’d like to make a toast!” The rest of the table gets quiet so they can listen. “To the greatest presidential candidate!”

“To the greatest presidential candidate!” The Novaks and Winchesters raise their milkshakes.

“Bernie Sanders!” Sam finishes with a smirk. Dean gives him a big shove, but that just causes him to start laughing harder. “Seriously though, Castiel you did a great job, and you should’ve won.”

“I’ll toast to that!” says Chuck before giving Castiel a supportive pat on the shoulder.

“And for my big brother,” Sam continues. “I wrote you this note to show you how proud I am of you.” Dean’s eyes narrow. It’s not out of the norm for Sam to do sappy shit like this, but he’s not the type of person to write a note. Normally he just says how he’s feeling and forces Dean to give him a hug afterwards. Something is fishy.

“Should I read it out loud?” Dean asks.

“It’s a bit emotional,” Sam says, “Maybe you should read it in the bathroom.”

“Okay,” He stands up. “Can you guys order me a slice of pie when the waiter gets back?” As he heads towards the bathroom, he sees Naomi raise her hand to flag down the waiter.

Once he makes it to the bathroom, he opens the envelope, pulls out the letter, and starts reading. After he reads the first sentence, he looks around to see if anyone is watching him. This has to be a joke.

**Dear Dean,**

**You must’ve really hated my dancing because you never got back to me about that dinner and a movie with those gift cards we won. Haha anyways, I thought your campaign presentation was really cool, and you guys should’ve won.**

**-Lisa**

**P.S. A lot of the girls at Hancock have been wearing plaid recently, but they don’t rock it like you do.**

Dean reads the note four times before he leaves the restroom. He has so many questions, but the first one is for Sam. He gives him a hug when he gets back to the table and whispers, “How did you get this?”

“She saw me after the presentations when you were backstage and gave it to me to give to you,” Sam whispers back.

The waiter shows up then with a platter full of every kind of dessert. Mr. Novak ordered one of everything because they are celebrating.

“What could we possibly be celebrating, Dad?” Castiel laughs.

“That Adam Milligan didn’t win,” Chuck says. “Can you imagine having to eat cafeteria tacos every day of the week?” Everyone at the table laughs.

“Yeah, but now we’re going to be forced to wear all black everything,” Dean groans.

“Not if my smart, powerful, sweet father donates a building or something to the school so we can be allowed to wear what we want again,” Castiel gives his father a puppy dog look that could rival even Sam’s, and that’s saying something. Chuck is powerless to resist.

“Would you be begging Chuck to fix things if you guys had won instead?” John asks.

“We did win, and I’m still…” Dean feels the pointy toe of Castiel’s shoe kick him in the shin. “Ouch,” Dean bends down to rub his leg. He’ll probably have a bruise there in the morning. “ _Weeds_ ,” Castiel mouths from across the table, but there’s that signature small smile on his face. It’s just a slight upturn of his mouth, but Dean has been on the receiving end of lots of those smiles recently, so he’s getting better at noticing them.

“What do you mean you won?” Naomi asks.

“I just mean we won because we had a good time.” Dean gets another kick under the table, but this one is softer. Castiel looks like he’s trying not to laugh.

In that one moment, Dean stops being afraid of Castiel. The boy with the cerulean eyes is no longer a mystery to him. He has good taste in music, he likes sugary desserts, he gets stabbed in the back by his friends, and he doesn’t always win, even when he deserves to. Castiel is a regular person, he just knows how to hide it.

Dean watches while Castiel wipes chocolate icing off of his chin, and he starts to understand why it took Cas so long to accept him. Castiel’s friendship wasn’t something he was entitled to, it was something he had to earn, and he’s finally done it.

He reaches into the back pocket of his jeans to make sure Lisa’s note is still there. Maybe he’ll show it to Cas after dinner. He can’t wait to see his neighbor’s reaction. He imagines that they’ll read it over and over again, analyzing every single word. He can’t stop smiling, because he finally has a friend to share stuff like this with. Dean has a feeling life in Bar Harbor is about to get much more exciting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to use Yummy as the ringtone because it's the most obnoxious song I could think of haha


	15. The Masquerade Revelers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean can’t believe how thirty seconds of Cas’s voice can change his mood so drastically. He was crying not a minute ago, and now his cheeks are starting to hurt from smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for homophobic slur

Thursday, November 12

7:05pm

* * *

By the time Dean gets back to the Novak estate, he’s sweaty and exhausted. Coach Singer has been increasing their training since the season is about to officially start with their first game on Saturday. Dean’s finally been given a position on the squad. Bobby says he’d be a great attacking midfielder, which is the same position he played back in Kansas. It’s a comfortable role for him. Bobby also said they might need him to rotate in as a false number nine at times, and he’s cool with that too.

As a false number nine, he might have the opportunity to score a goal. That would be awesome! It’d be even more awesome if he scored a goal while a certain beautiful girl sat in the stands and watched. He still hasn’t gotten up the nerve to ask Lisa out on a real date yet, but he’s working on it. He has one shot with a girl like her, and he doesn’t want to fuck it up.

He trudges up the front steps of the guest house and is about to open up the door when John does it for him. “Welcome home, son!” John wraps him up in an unexpected hug. He’s drunk again. Typical. Then again, Dean would much prefer overly-loving drunk John to angry, yelling drunk John. “You smell like a man!”

Dean laughs. “Yeah I was at soccer practice, Dad.” He pulls himself out of hug and drops his backpack and gym bag on the floor by the door. He sees Sam sitting at the kitchen table with a book out. The kid must be doing his homework.

“I’m really proud of you, son,” John claps him on the shoulder as Dean walks towards the kitchen to try and assess the dinner situation. “I can’t wait to see you tearing up the field while I cheer from the stands.” Dean tries to control his horror at the thought of his father attending one of his games by opening the refrigerator and looking for something he can eat without having to cook.

"You don't have to go to the game, Dad," Dean says. 

“Of course I have to go!” John exclaims. “Plus I’d like to get a look at this girl, Lisa, Sammy says you’ve been dating.” Dean turns lightning-fast to glare at Sam who is shaking his head with wide eyes. _Dammit, Sammy!_ “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Dean. We Winchester men are ladies magnets.” He chuckles. “Honestly, I’m glad Sam told me about Lisa because I was starting to worry that you might be some sort of queer.”

Dean’s blood freezes to ice in his veins. There it is. _Some sort of queer_. He’d wondered if his father was homophobic based on little comments he’d made here and there, but he’s never said it so blatantly before. This is why Dean hasn’t come out to him yet.

He can feel the tears building up behind his eyes, and he cannot cry out here in front of his _proud_ father. Proud of him not for the A he got on his last algebra test, but proud because he got sweaty and kicked a ball around with a bunch of other jocks. Proud that he’s caught the attention of a popular girl at Hancock even though he can’t stop pleasuring himself in the shower to thoughts of his attractive male neighbor. Not that John knows that second part, thank fuck.

He needs to get out of here. He mumbles some excuse about needing a shower and all but runs out of the kitchen. Some part of him is able to realize that this is John’s problem, not his. There’s nothing wrong with him. Being bisexual is completely normal. Yet even though he knows all of this logically, it doesn’t stop the litany of words playing over and over in his head. _Dirty, wrong, disgusting, abomination_.

He sits on his bed and puts his head in his hands, noticing that his cheeks are slightly wet from tears. Luckily they didn’t fall when he was in the kitchen. Wouldn’t want John to think he’s a homo because he lets himself feel emotions sometimes. He wipes his eyes and takes a couple deep breaths before checking the landline phone by his bed to see that he has two voicemail messages. That’s a bit odd. He listens to the first one.

“Hey, Dean, it’s… Cas. Just wanted to let you know what tomorrow’s Sleepover Activity is. Ready?” There’s a momentary pause. “I was thinking we could decorate denim jackets. Fun, right? I’m buying some special paint and some patterns for us to use, so bring a few pairs of those navy and green jackets you have. I know you have them, so don’t fake-forget and then act all ‘I’m Dean and I’m too cool for crafting’ tomorrow.” Castiel chuckles. “Okay, talk to you later!”

Dean can’t believe how thirty seconds of Cas’s voice can change his mood so drastically. He was crying not a minute ago, and now his cheeks are starting to hurt from smiling. There’s so much to unpack about the message, so he listens to it again… and again.

It’s adorable how Cas paused before saying the nickname Dean has given him, as if he wasn’t sure if he should use it or not. It’s cute that he knows Dean well enough to know that his initial reaction to decorating jean jackets would be to show up empty handed and watch while the others do their crafting. Most importantly, it makes Dean smile when he thinks about how Cas did all of this on his own. Dean didn’t have to blackmail the guy to get an invite this time.

Ever since the student elections, Castiel has been much nicer to him. They still don’t interact much at school, but they have been messaging more frequently. Castiel hadn’t mentioned that he was going to invite Dean to his exclusive weekly sleepover, but he’ll definitely be happy to get out of the house tomorrow.

He listens to the second message. It’s from Balthazar.

“Hey Dean, it’s Balthazar. Just wondering if you happen to have an extra jacket I could use for the sleepover tomorrow. Gabe said I could borrow one of his, but it would probably be too small for me. Let me know if that’s cool. See you tomorrow!”

Dean lays back on his bed listening to the two messages multiple times. He knows he’s being lame, but he’s finally starting to feel like he fits in here. That’s something even his dad can’t take away from him.

Friday, November 13

8:25am

* * *

Castiel is seething by the time they get to school. He’d gotten a message from Crowley early this morning letting him know that he wouldn’t need a ride to school today because he has a doctor appointment during first period. Castiel knows he’s avoiding him, but he’s getting tired of how fake their friendship has become. Something needs to change.

He walks over to his locker, which just happens to be next to Crowley’s locker. Crowley jumps when Castiel comes to stand next to him making it clear that he has been trying to avoid him.

“I like your outfit today,” Crowley says nervously. Castiel just stares at him.

He turns to look in the direction of where Gabe and Zar should be getting him a coffee. They’re nowhere to be seen. “God, where are Gabriel and Balthazar with my coffee? I would’ve asked them to get you one, but you told me you had a doctor’s appointment.” Castiel knows that's a bullshit excuse Crowley made up, but he wants to try and trap him in the lie.

Crowley crouches down on the floor, probably pretending to tie his shoes. “It was canceled,” he says. “He had to do an emergency surgery.”

Castiel rifles through his pencil case for something to do. “I can’t find my favorite blue pen,” he says like it’s the end of the world. He hears Crowley audibly exhale next to him. “What’s wrong with you by the way?”

“What do you mean?” Crowley asks.

“Why did you need to go to the doctor?” Castiel asks with a smirk. He wants Crowley to have to admit that the doctor excuse was a lie.

“There you are!” Brady interrupts, running up to Crowley. “What’s up with the sleepover tonight? Luke and Marv keep asking me what time.”

Castiel turns towards Brady. “Why do Luke and Marv think they’re coming to my sleepover?”

“We’re back!” Gabriel sing-songs while he holds out a coffee for Castiel to take. His hair is in the awkward stages of growing out from that time he’d shaved himself a buzz cut, but he’s looking good.

“The line at the café was INSANE,” Balthazar says when he joins them.

“I say we try that new smoothie place that opened up across the street recently,” Castiel says. “I’m getting kind of tired of coffee.”

“Great idea,” Gabriel says. “I’m over this.”

Castiel continues to stare at Brady, waiting for him to notice. When he does, he stares back for a little while, but quickly gets uncomfortable. Castiel has been told that his stare is intimidating and borderline creepy. He uses it to his advantage at every possible opportunity.

“What?” Brady asks. “Why are you staring at me?”

“You were talking about my sleepover,” Castiel says.

“No I wasn’t,” Brady explains as if he’s stupid. “I was talking about Crowley’s sleepover. But you’re coming right?”

“I don’t think I was given an invitation,” Castiel says frostily.

Crowley turns red. “I was about to explain when…”

“When what?” Castiel interrupts. “When you thought it’d be easier for you to steal my identity?” He stands over Crowley, trying to intimidate the shorter boy.

“I wasn’t trying to steal your identity,” Crowley says.

Castiel steps directly into Crowley’s space and lowers his voice so only Crowley will be able to hear him. “Face it. You are never going to be me, so don’t bother trying.” He signals to the other boys that it’s time to go, and they walk to their next classes not sparing Crowley another glance.

Friday, November 13

10:50am

* * *

Castiel has been dreading this day for weeks. Not only is it a Friday the 13th, but it’s also the day Crowley and Brady are being interviewed for their upcoming article in the Bangor newspaper about their campaign win. That should be his and Dean’s prize! Now everyone in the school is congratulating _them_ and wishing them luck instead of him.

He tries to surreptitiously glance towards the desk next to him where Crowley sits. He’s trying to gauge if Crowley has been affected at all by their fight earlier. Castiel is really upset, so why isn’t Crowley? Does their friendship mean nothing to him? He keeps thinking that the right time for their revenge will be obvious to him, and that he just has to be patient, but now his Friday night sleepovers are at stake. He can’t sit still any longer. Crowley has woken a sleeping dragon, and the dragon is PISSED!

Mr. Adler coughs obnoxiously at the front of their History class. “Castiel, are you with us?”

Castiel gives a quick nod and forced smile, and Mr. Adler goes back to droning on about the importance of Julius Caesar or something else he isn’t paying any attention to. He takes a peek around the room and sees that the entire class appears to be one useless fact away from slipping into a coma. At least he isn’t the only one!

It’s the perfect time to start working on his Christmas shopping list. He turns to a blank page in his notebook and sets up a graph with a list of names for people he needs to shop for on one side and ideas of what to get them on the other side. His list is the same as it was last year except this year he’s crossed Crowley’s name off the list and added Dean’s instead.

This is the first time that Dean has been on the list. If someone had asked him two months ago if he’d be considering getting Dean a Christmas gift, the answer would’ve been no-freaking-way, but things are different now. Castiel feels like the two of them are actually friends now. Dean is really funny and smart and stubborn and cute, although Castiel likes to pretend to himself that he doesn’t notice that last part.

When it comes to Dean’s gift, he's torn. Should he get him a nice pair of headphones because he knows Dean loves listening to music? Or should he buy him a brand new leather jacket so he can stop wearing his dad’s worn out hand-me-down? The leather jacket seems like a cooler gift, but he also knows how attached Dean is to that jacket. Castiel would hate to get him something he’ll never use.

He imagines giving Dean a big rectangular box wrapped in red paper with a big green bow. Dean would tear up the wrapping paper and look at him sweetly with those beautiful green eyes of his. Then he would try on the leather jacket and say, “Cas, I love it! How can I possibly thank you?”

“I’ll show you,” Castiel would say, leading Dean up the stairs to his bedroom.

“What about your parents?” Dean would ask because he’s considerate like that.

“They won’t be back for an hour,” Castiel would say, pushing the door open to reveal his pristine bedroom.

“This is perfect,” Dean would say, starting to take off the leather jacket.

“No, leave it on,” Castiel would whisper, and Dean would flash him one of his signature smirks. “Are you ready to do this?” He’d ask.

“Absolutely,” Dean would reply, plugging his phone into Castiel’s speaker and putting on a playlist full of those classic rock songs he loves. Castiel would only recognize about half of them, but that doesn’t matter because Dean enjoys it and he enjoys watching Dean’s hips move to the beat.

The two of them would wink at each other before starting to pull every book off of his bookshelf and hurling them onto the floor. They would bash apart his pillows until goose feathers littered the room. They’d throw his shoes at each other like they’re playing football with them and yank all of the neatly hung up dress clothes from his closet, piling them on a heap in the middle of the floor. They’d dump his expensive bottles of conditioner down the drain and write their names in toothpaste on his bedroom window. He’s so tired of Naomi constantly nagging him to keep his room spotless, and he can’t think of anyone else he’d rather mess it up with than Dean Winchester, the cutest boy in… _what??_

He’s yanked out of his fantasy when Mr. Adler pounds his fist on Castiel’s desk. He must’ve dozed off. “I’ll try to make things more interesting for you next time, Castiel,” Mr. Adler hisses between his teeth.

When the bell rings Castiel packs up his things in a daze. He’s not sure what he’s more disturbed by, the fact that he was dreaming of trashing his bedroom with Dean in the least sexy way possible, or the fact that over the course of a forty minute lecture, he thought of Dean Winchester as 'cute' twice.

Friday, November 13

6:15pm

* * *

Castiel lathers himself up with sunblock while the boys get ready to start playing a round of tennis. The sleepover isn’t scheduled to start for a little while yet, so he figured they could rent out a court for a while to pass the time. It sucks that Crowley isn’t here to make it an even four. He would ask Dean, but he’s already nervous about having him over for the sleepover with the daydream he’d had earlier.

His phone rings while he’s finishing up applying his sunblock. “Can someone answer that? My hands are sticky.”

Gabriel pulls Castiel’s phone out from his gym bag and checks the caller ID. “It’s Crowley,” he says. “Should I hit ‘decline’?”

“No, I bet he’s having a guilt moment at the interview and wants to beg for my forgiveness,” Castiel laughs. He grabs the phone out of Gabe’s hand.

“Do you think he knows that my dad has been trying to put a stop to the whole uniform thing?” Gabriel asks.

“Only one way to find out,” Castiel answers the phone, putting it on speaker. He covers his mouth with his finger to signal to the other boys to stay quiet while he talks. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Crowley. I’m in Bangor.” Castiel rolls his eyes. As if he didn’t know where Crowley was. “I know you’re mad at me, and I just wanted to let you know I’m not having the sleepover anymore.”

“And you want to get invited back to mine, right?” Castiel asks. “Well, it starts in a couple hours, and you’ll never make it back from _Bangor_ in time.” Castiel does his best to imitate Crowley’s obnoxious tone. Balthazar covers up his mouth to keep from laughing.

“Relax,” Crowley snaps. “If I wanted to do arts and crafts at a lame sleepover, I’d go hang out with my six year old cousin. Besides, they gave Brady and me tickets to a concert tonight.”

“No fair,” Gabriel mouths.

“Crowley, do you expect me to care?” Castiel says, even though he actually does care a lot.

“I’m just calling because I want that jacket that I let you borrow back,” he says.

“No big,” Castiel says. “I’d rather not have your stuff cluttering up my closet anyways.”

“Brady and I were asked to model for Maine’s winter tourism magazine, and I might want to wear it,” Crowley says smugly. Castiel feels like he’s falling down a well. There’s a loud ringing noise in his ears, and he feels suddenly dizzy. How is this happening? Crowley _cheated_ and now he’s getting rewarded for it. “Look, I’ve gotta go,” Crowley says, “The concert is about to start.” He hangs up without giving Castiel a chance to get the last word in.

“I can’t believe this,” he mumbles. Balthazar and Gabriel look as horrified as he feels. Their faces probably mirror his own. “That should’ve been us.” He goes onto the court and starts whacking balls ferociously. He needs to get some of this pent-up rage out before he can think clearly.

After thirty minutes of sweating out his anger, Castiel has calmed down slightly. As the boys towel off their sweat he says, “The time is now.”

“You mean we can stop being predators hiding in the weeds now?” Balthazar asks.

Castiel nods. “It’s time to pounce.”

“Finally!” Balthazar says excitedly. He throws his hand up in the air and the other two high-five him.

“What’s the plan?” Gabe asks. _Good question._

“I’ll tell you guys at the sleepover tonight,” he replies. That should give him enough time to come up with something.

The car ride back to the boy’s houses is mostly silent. Castiel can’t wait to get in the shower and wash off this day. That’s where he gets his best thinking done anyways.

Friday, November 13

7:20pm

* * *

Dean sits in his room, trying his best not to freak out about later tonight. He’s about to go to his third sleepover at Cas’s house. The first time had been a nightmare. The second time had been enjoyable. He has no idea what tonight’s is going to be like.

His father knocks on his bedroom door, startling him out of his anxiety spiral. He’s been trying to avoid his dad as much as possible since the incident yesterday. Dean’s worried he has an ‘I like dick as well as boobs’ tattoo on his forehead, and it’s easier to just avoid John than worry about him being able to read Dean like a book.

“Come in!” Dean says.

The door opens to reveal Castiel, not his dad. “Your dad let me in,” Cas says, answering Dean’s unasked question. He closes the door behind himself.

Dean looks outside at the backyard, trying to find something to say to break the awkward silence. Sometimes when he’s with Cas, things are as easy and natural as breathing. Other times, every part of their interaction makes Dean question himself. “What’s going on down there?” Dean asks, pointing at the woodpile in the backyard.

“My parents are turning the barn into a home gym,” Castiel responds, sounding completely unimpressed.

“Phew,” Dean jokes, “I was worried another family was moving in.”

“No, you guys are more than enough,” Castiel says, and Dean stiffens. “Relax, Dean. I actually don’t mind having you here anymore.”

“Oh,” Dean raises his eyes up to meet Cas’s and is startled by the sincerity in them. Whenever they actually look at each other like this, Dean always finds it impossible to look away. Cas’s eyes are just so _blue_. Castiel coughs, and Dean blushes. His neighbor probably thinks he’s a freak. He desperately wants to ask Cas what he’s doing here, but he thinks it might be better to just act like this is normal. Maybe that way it will happen more often.

“What’s this?” Cas asks, and Dean hopes he’s asking about the email Dean got earlier from Lisa. He’s been dying to share the details of his secret crush with Castiel, but they haven’t had any time alone together. Maybe tonight he’ll be able to.

He looks over and sees that Castiel is actually pointing at the angel figurine on his dresser. Dean feels his throat constrict. “It belonged to my mother,” he says quietly, walking closer to Cas. “She died when I was ten.” Dean picks up the figurine and holds it reverently. “She always used to say angels were watching over us before she’d tuck us in at night.” His eyes tear up at the memory.

He looks over at Castiel and can tell that the other boy is affected by what he’s shared with him. “I’m sorry, Dean,” he says genuinely.

Dean gives him a small smile of acknowledgement and then changes the subject. “So what brings you here when I'm going to see you anyways in like thirty minutes?” 

“It’s go-time,” Castiel says as if those words mean something.

“Huh?” Dean responds stupidly. Castiel immediately launches into a detailed description of what’s going on between him and Crowley, ending with the recent news that he and Brady are going to be modeling for Bangor’s tourism magazine.

“What are you going to do?” Dean asks. He feels just as cheated by Crowley and Brady as Castiel does, but he’s not as bloodthirsty. He doesn’t really care about modeling, and he remembers how awful Castiel made him feel when he first moved here. He doesn’t want to wish that on anyone else, even Crowley.

“Let’s destroy him,” Castiel says, staring deep into Dean’s eyes. Dean feels like the breath just got sucked out of his body. The last thing he wants to do is ruin this tenuous friendship he and Cas are finally building, but again, he’s not sure how he feels about tormenting Crowley.

Castiel jumps onto Dean’s bed and pats it for him to join him. Dean panics for a moment, thinking about what would happen if John walked in, but then realizes he’s being silly because nothing is going on between him and Castiel in the first place.

“Here’s the plan,” Castiel says and begins whispering the details to him even though there’s nobody around them to overhear. While Castiel is sprawled out on his bed, Dean sits on the edge with his feet firmly planted on the ground as he listens. “So, are you in?” Castiel asks once he’s finished.

Dean thinks about it.

“Well?” Castiel presses. Dean nods. A little bit of guilt is better than potentially pissing Castiel off.

Castiel grabs the landline in Dean’s room after laughing again at the fact that Dean isn’t allowed to get a cell phone until he turns seventeen in January. He calls up the number for the Bangor city event planner that he knew Crowley and Brady had met with. He holds the phone up and motions for Dean to lean in so they can both hear. Dean tries to ignore the butterflies that make themselves known in his chest every time he gets this close to Cas.

Castiel covers the mouthpiece so he can whisper, “We’ll probably have to leave a message since it’s so late.” Dean feels his warm breath on his neck and goosebumps erupt down his spine.

“Missouri Mosely’s office,” a voice answers, and Dean gasps. He feels Castiel cover his mouth with a finger to remind him to be quiet.

“Yes, uh,” Castiel puts on a terrible English accent, and Dean tries his best not to die laughing. He sounds _nothing_ like Crowley. There’s no way she’s going to buy it. “This is Crowley and Brady from earlier.”

“Hey, gorgeous,” a woman answers. “Make my day and tell me you got permission to do the holiday shoot.”

“Mmm, not yet,” Castiel responds in the fake accent. Dean sits perfectly still. He doesn’t want to miss a word. “That’s not why I’m calling.”

“Then why are you calling, dear?” Missouri asks.

“I have a confession to make. I can’t take the guilt anymore,” Castiel says. Missouri makes a humming noise to show she’s listening. “Brady and I cheated during the election. We didn’t really win. Castiel Novak and Dean Winchester did. We switched our ballot boxes with theirs.”

“And?” Missouri asks after he’s done.

“And what?” Castiel asks. “How are you going to punish us?”

“I’m not a nun, sweetie,” she says. “I don’t care that you cheated.” Dean raises his eyebrows in shock. “I just care that you’re gorgeous and will look great in our winter magazine.”

“Uh, okay,” Castiel says.

'Now what?' Dean mouths. Castiel shrugs and the two of them listen to Missouri type away on a keyboard on the other side of the line.

“Crowley, are you still there?”

“Uh, yeah, sorry bad connection,” Castiel scrambles.

“When can you get me those pictures of your friends?” Missouri asks.

“Huh?”

Missouri sighs. “I need pictures of your handsome-in-a-real-sort-of-way friends for the shoot. We’re still looking for four more models.” Castiel pumps his fist in the air and mouths ‘yes!’

Dean almost jumps up in his excitement, but forgets that the phone chord isn’t that long. He sits back down so he can continue listening.

“What’s your email address?” Castiel asks. “I’ll have my friend Castiel send those to you right now!” Missouri gives them the email address and then hangs up. Castiel grabs Dean’s arms and the two of them start jumping around excitedly. “We are going to crash Crowley’s modeling party!” Castiel couldn’t have come up with a better revenge plan if he’d tried.

After a few minutes, Castiel gasps, “I have to stop.” He collapses back onto the bed, his hair even messier than it naturally is. “Can I take a picture of you?” He asks.

Dean is shocked. He’s still surprised whenever Castiel willingly includes him in any of his plans. He’s also somewhat flattered that his neighbor thinks he’s attractive enough to model. “Here, let me get you a better picture. I look gross right now.”

Dean digs through his stack of pictures, looking for an adequate one to send. “You never look gross,” he thinks he hears Cas mumble.

“What?” Dean asks.

Castiel blushes. “Nothing.”

“Here, send this one!” Dean hands him a picture from back when he was in Kansas. Sam took it while he was watching the sunset, and Dean likes the way the orange light highlights his freckles.

Castiel looks at the picture for a moment with a small smile on his face. “This is great! I’ve got some good pictures of the other guys in my room. I’ll go send them now.”

“Good luck!” Dean says.

“See you in a little bit!” Castiel shouts as he races out of Dean’s room to go send the email.

After he leaves, Dean goes over to his computer to read the last email that Lisa had sent him again. He'll have to tell Cas about it later. 

**D,**

**Is it cool if I come to your soccer match tomorrow? If I do, I’ll make sure to cheer obnoxiously every time you kick the ball. I’ll also make sure to bring you a sweet surprise for after the game. Oh, and thanks for sending me that picture of your toe… and no, I don’t think it looks like an old man’s thumb.**

**-L**

Dean wastes no time writing his response.

**L,**

**You can definitely come and cheer as loudly as you want! Though I can’t promise we’ll win. It is the first game of the season, after all. By the way, thanks for the gummy bears. I ate all of them ;)**

**-D**

Dean is bursting at the seams to tell her the news about how he and Castiel are going to be modeling for Bangor’s magazine, but he thinks he’ll wait. He’s not quite ready to stop accepting Lisa’s sugary gifts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have absolutely no idea if Bangor has a magazine for tourism, but I'm rolling with it haha
> 
> I have aunts who live near Bar Harbor, Maine that I visit every other summer, but I've never actually been to Bangor. It's the only "big" city anywhere near them though, so that's why they're going there.


	16. I Think I've Seen This Film Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel thinks back to when he’d tried to date Anna and worried that something was wrong with him since he’d never felt butterflies before. He almost wishes he could go back to that time because feeling butterflies constantly around Dean might be even worse.

Saturday, November 14

8:25pm

* * *

The glare from the stadium lights is almost blinding as Dean runs forward with the ball right in front of his feet. He dribbles expertly towards the eighteen yard box as the last few moments of the game run out. The score is tied 1-1, and it’s been a long game. There’s only one defender and the goalkeeper in between him and the prize of scoring a goal in his first game of the season. He can do this!

He dodges the final defender’s attempt at tackling him. Now it’s just him and the goalkeeper. He rears back his stronger right leg and sends the ball sailing into the upper right corner of the net. The referee blows the whistle, and the crowd goes wild!

“The Seals take the win once again thanks to a last-minute goal from their new attacking midfielder, Dean Winchester!” A man’s voice bellows through the stadium speakers. Everyone jumps up in the stands and waves their navy and yellow Hancock flags. He sees Anna leading a cheer with the other cheerleaders, and she shoots him a smile.

Dean is almost knocked over by the force of his team rushing forward to lift him up into the air. They carry him over to the bench where some of the players empty their water bottles on his head. At least it isn’t Gatorade. That stuff gets sticky, fast!

He looks up towards the crowd and sees four faces that stick out more than the rest. Sam and John are clapping and waving at him enthusiastically. Lisa is sitting in the front row beaming down at him. She'd kept her promise and cheered obnoxiously every time he kicked the ball. The other person he spots immediately is Castiel who is standing and clapping with Gabriel and Balthazar by his side. Dean waves towards Lisa first and then towards his friends. He notices Castiel look over towards the spot where he’d waved at Lisa, but he doesn’t know why.

After a quick team huddle, Coach Singer sends them off on their ways so they can meet up with their families and friends. Dean quickly heads over to his family first. John gives him a hug and a big clap on the back, and Dean ruffles Sam’s hair fondly. He lets them know that he wants to go meet his friends first before they take him home and then turns to try and find Lisa. She isn't sitting in the front row where she had been before.

He watches Crowley come over to greet Brady, Luke, and Marv. Dean tries his best to keep himself from saying anything to Crowley about their plan to sabotage his modeling gig. They’re trying to keep it a surprise for as long as they can.

He looks up and sees Lisa standing in front of him. She must’ve come down instead of waiting for him to go to her. “That was an amazing goal, Dean!” She exclaims. He shrugs humbly in response, but he wouldn’t be able to keep the grin off of his face if he tried. “And you told me not to get my hopes up about the game.”

“I just didn’t want to make a fool of myself in front of a cute girl during my first game,” he winks at her and she blushes.

“I’m sure you did the opposite of that,” she says looking towards the group of girls waiting around at the edge of the field. When Dean follows her gaze, the girls giggle and start whispering to each other. “I think you have a few new admirers.”

Dean laughs, “Well they’ll be upset to find out that there’s only one girl I was looking forward to seeing tonight.” Lisa blushes again and smiles. Dean loves being the reason for that.

“Oh, before I forget!” She says, reaching into her purse. “A sweet treat, as promised.” She hands him a Tupperware full of brownies. An older woman calls her name. It’s probably her mom. “I’ve got to go, but we’ll talk soon?”

Dean takes the brownies from her and gives her a quick hug. “I’ll call you!” He says, and she smiles and runs off to go meet her mom.

Dean feels almost giddy. The adrenaline from the game is slowly starting to wear off, and he knows he’ll be exhausted later, but he’s so happy right now! He heads up into the stands to talk to his new friends.

Gabriel gives him a pat on the back. “Nicely done, Dean-o!”

“We were really hoping we wouldn’t have to cheer for Brady,” Balthazar chimes in. Brady is their forward, and he’s the one who scored the first goal. He is a very good player, but he’s one of those guys who is obnoxious about how good he is.

Castiel seems preoccupied by something. He doesn’t say anything directly to Dean and looks like his mind is on something else. Maybe he’s focused on his fight with Crowley. That would make sense.

Dean looks over and sees his dad motioning that it’s time for them to leave. He says goodbye to his friends, who all return his goodbye except for Cas who just gives him a half-hearted wave. What’s gotten into him? He heads over to his dad and brother, figuring that he can talk to Cas about whatever’s bugging him later. He isn’t going to let this ruin his good night.

Monday, November 16

12:25 pm

* * *

Castiel can’t bring himself to try and take another bite of his turkey wrap because every time he tries, he ends up getting a glob of ranch dressing on his pants. White colored dressing is exactly the worst kind of dressing to accidentally spill on pants for obvious reasons.

He stands up from his place at the head of Table 17, which has been their table in the cafeteria since freshman year, and chucks his half-eaten wrap in the nearest trash can. “We have to clean up this mess,” Castiel says, gesturing towards the wrapping paper and ribbons littering the table. “There’s no room to eat.”

“The gift-exchange is in ten minutes, and I still haven’t wrapped my present yet,” Gabriel whines.

“Who cares?” Castiel throws himself back into his seat angrily. “This whole thing is stupid! We have to be the only school that does a Secret Santa gift exchange before Thanksgiving. Principal Richings sucks!”

“Can someone give me a five-letter word for ‘grouch’ starting with g?” Balthazar asks while he perfects the placement of the bow on his gift. He's become obsessed with crossword puzzles recently, which is annoying but not as annoying as that time last year when he only spoke in riddles. 

“Grouch!” Gabriel shouts with his mouth full of food.

“That’s six letters,” Balthazar laughs, “And that’s the word I used as an example.”

“Grinch?” Dean teases, shooting his signature smirk across the table at Castiel. He's sitting in Crowley's usual spot. Castiel had asked Dean to sit with them today since Crowley's seat has been empty while they've been fighting. 

“I am not being a grump,” Castiel says sourly. “I just don’t like when things are messy.” He starts trying to clean the table of all of the wrapping paper they won’t need to use. He looks across the cafeteria at the table where Crowley is sitting with Brady, Luke, and Marv and wonders why Crowley hasn’t even tried to make up with him yet. Is he really having fun with people he used to spend most of his time making fun of? Why doesn’t Crowley miss him?

“There’s a piece of salad caught in your ribbon,” Gabriel says, tugging on Balthazar’s bow.

“That’s decorative holly,” Balthazar swats his hand away. “Don’t eat it!”

“I wasn’t going to eat it,” Gabriel sounds offended. “You know I don’t like salad.”

Dean laughs in response, and Castiel does his best to ignore the wave of butterflies that sound always invokes in him. He thinks back to when he’d tried to date Anna and worried that something was wrong with him since he’d never felt butterflies before. He almost wishes he could go back to that time because feeling butterflies constantly around Dean might be even worse. Especially now that he knows Dean isn’t actually gay, but that he’s been flirting with Lisa ever since the Halloween party. He found out through Kali via Gabriel that Lisa has been harboring a big crush on Dean for weeks now, and if Dean’s reaction to seeing her at his soccer game the other night is any indicator, the feelings are mutual.

The reason Castiel is being such a grump is because he can’t deny it anymore. The way he felt when he saw Dean interacting with Lisa was obvious. It’s the exact same feeling he has when he thinks about how Crowley is hanging out more with Brady than with him. Jealousy. Not jealousy over Dean getting along with the girl he thought he was crushing on, but jealousy towards Lisa. It's like getting a bucket of ice water dumped on his head. He doesn’t have a crush on Lisa, and he didn’t have a crush on Anna, because he isn’t attracted to girls. He’s attracted to boys. More specifically, he’s attracted to Dean.

Now Dean is part of his friend group, so he can’t just go back to ignoring him like he used to. He doesn’t want to go back to ignoring him. He likes his company. He likes being around him. He just needs to suck it up, accept that Dean doesn’t feel the same way, and move on. Then he needs to figure out how to deal with the gay-panic that he's been struggling with since Saturday's game. 

Castiel tunes back into the conversation and hears that Gabriel and Balthazar are still bickering over their eating habits. He decides to interrupt them. “The plan for revenge against Crowley has been set into motion!”

“Tell us everything!” Gabriel pushes his half-wrapped present to the side and leans in to listen.

“And don’t leave anything out,” Balthazar says.

Castiel and Dean take turns telling the boys about their phone call with Missouri, how they pretended to be Crowley and Brady, the photos they sent in, and the possibility of the four of them being included in the holiday shoot. Castiel had decided not to tell them the plan until it had been finalized over the weekend. “Missouri just has to approve the pictures and we’ve got it!”

“What picture did you send of me?” Gabriel asks nervously.

“That’s all you have to say?” Castiel rips off a piece of tape roughly and sticks it on the side of the present he’s wrapping.

“I just wanted to make sure I didn’t look ugly,” Gabriel responds.

“Do you think I’m an amateur?” Castiel asks. “I made sure we all looked hot.”

“When is the shoot?” Balthazar asks. “It’s not on a school day is it?”

“We thought you guys would be excited about this,” Dean chimes in. Castiel is glad that he has his back at least. He’s much more loyal than Crowley anyways.

“I’m totally excited!” Balthazar says enthusiastically. “It’s just that I got this after school job, so I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Wait, why do you have a job? It’s not like you need the money,” Castiel says, perplexed. He sees Dean shoot Balthazar a look out of the corner of his eyes, but doesn’t know what it means.

“It’s just for the holidays. I’m wrapping presents at the mall,” Balthazar looks down at his gift that’s been wrapped perfectly.

“Maybe I should do that too,” Dean says with a smile. “I could use a bit more money for the holidays.” Balthazar shoots him a wink like they’re sharing some sort of secret, but Castiel ignores them. He refuses to let his fight with Crowley make him paranoid. “Castiel, don’t we also get two hundred dollars for doing the shoot if they pick us?” Dean asks him.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that,” Castiel says.

“That’ll give you even more Christmas spending money,” Gabriel mocks.

“At least my job taught me how to correctly wrap a present,” Balthazar points to the mess in front of Gabriel. He’s been trying to wrap up a candle, but he’s having a hard time with it.

Castiel suddenly gets a strong whiff of some scent he can’t place. He leans over towards Gabriel to smell his candle. “Get away, weirdo!” Gabriel shoves him away playfully.

Crowley and Brady are standing to the side of their table. Well that explains the smell. Brady always uses way too much Axe body spray. The two of them are both wearing their usual outfits, but instead of wearing ties the way they’re meant to be worn, they have theirs wrapped around their waists in place of a belt. “What are you guys doing?” Crowley asks innocently. Castiel stares him down without saying anything.

He can see Dean look between the two of them a couple times before he says, “We should keep wrapping. The gift exchange is in five minutes.”

“Oops, I totally forgot,” Crowley pulls a chair over from the table next to theirs and squeezes himself next to Dean in his usual spot. He taps his seat and looks at Brady as if he’s telling him to come share. Now there are six people crammed in at a table that barely seats four.

Castiel is itching to ask why they’re wearing ties as belts, but he refuses to talk to Crowley until he apologizes. He angles his chair away from the table so he doesn’t have to look at them.

“Mind if I use some of this?” Brady asks, pointing to the tape.

Dean hands it over to him, “Go ahead.”

Brady pulls a CD out of his bag that he starts working on wrapping. Crowley turns towards him, “Do you have another one of those? I don’t have anything to give…” he pulls a card out of his bag, “Ronald Resnik.”

“Why don’t you give him those stupid ties you’re wearing like belts,” Balthazar suggests. Gabriel bursts out laughing.

“Everyone in Bangor was wearing these,” Crowley explains. “You’ll see, they’re going to be huge.”

Brady nods, “And there are fifty ways to wear them.”

“Fifty-one if you count shoving them up your ass,” Gabriel guffaws. Everyone laughs again, but Crowley ignores their jabs.

“Of course you would’ve known all of this if any of you had bothered to ask us how our interview went,” Crowley picks a piece of lint off of his suit jacket. Nobody asks Crowley for a single detail, not even Dean. Castiel is proud of his friends. There’s no reason to give him the satisfaction. “Anyways, Brady,” Crowley says again. “Can I have one of those CDs to give Ronald?”

“I only have the one,” Brady says as he continues struggling to wrap it.

“Can I have yours then?” Crowley asks sweetly.

“No, I have to give something to Andy,” Brady says, annoyed.

“I’ll tell everyone what happened to you at the concert,” Crowley threatens. Brady sighs and drops the CD on the table in front of Crowley, then slides down in his seat. Castiel can’t believe Crowley just bossed Brady around like that. Bossing is his thing. “So Dean, where’s Benny?” Crowley asks innocently. “Don’t you usually sit at his table?”

Castiel isn’t surprised that Crowley is choosing to attack Dean. He’s the newest member of the group and therefore the easiest target. Then again, bullying Dean isn’t as easy as it looks. Castiel should know.

“Benny is at the doctor, so Castiel said I could sit here today,” Dean responds evenly.

“I’m glad,” Crowley says in a way that he immediately distrusts. “Because I have some gossip for you.” Dean puts down his decently wrapped present to look up at Crowley. “Do you know Lisa Braeden?”

“Yeah,” Castiel can’t help replying.

“I was talking to Dean,” Crowley says without looking his way. “Anyways, she likes you and wants to start hanging out with you.” Crowley turns to stare directly at Castiel. “Alone,” he emphasizes. Castiel has never wanted to disappear more than he does right now. Does Crowley know how he feels somehow? That’s not possible.

“How do you know?” Dean beams with excitement.

“Source?” Castiel manages to squeak out. The look on Dean’s face is like a knife to his gut.

“Lisa told me herself at the soccer game, didn’t she Brady?” Crowley asks.

“Yep,” Brady responds, still seeming upset about his Secret Santa gift getting stolen.

Castiel looks down. He doesn’t want to have to keep looking at the absolute joy that Dean is radiating right now. His first instinct is to hurt Dean to get him to stop looking so happy, but he stops himself. He can’t do that anymore.

“So, Dean, are you totally surprised and excited?” Crowley asks.

“Yeah, are you?” Castiel asks accusingly. 

“I meant to tell you,” Dean says quietly. “But I could never get you alone.”

“That’s funny,” Crowley says, “Because Lisa said she had a hard time getting you alone since Castiel was always there when she tried.”

Castiel feels as if Crowley just punched him. Somehow the smug look on Crowley's face is even worse than the happy one on Dean’s. He wants to get up and run out of the cafeteria, but he can’t appear as though any of this is bothering him. They’re all waiting for him to say something, but he has nothing to say.

“Look,” Dean pulls a folded piece of paper out of the pocket of his leather jacket. “It’s the first note Lisa gave me after we lost the election.” He hands the note to Crowley.

Castiel takes a sip of his green tea while Crowley unfolds the paper. He takes another sip when Crowley starts reading it out loud. “Dear Dean, you must’ve really hated my dancing because you never got back to me about that dinner and a movie with those gift cards we won. Anyways, I thought your campaign presentation was really cool, and you guys should’ve won. P.S. A lot of girls at Hancock have been wearing plaid recently, but they don’t rock it like you do.” Crowley gently refolds up the note and hands it back to Dean. “She is so sweet,” Crowley smiles. “Except the part about how you guys should’ve won.”

“She’s adorable,” Balthazar swoons. Castiel wraps his arms around his stomach. The butterflies that were there earlier must’ve turned into hornets because he feels like he’s about to be sick.

“Did you ever go to the movie with her?” Brady asks.

“Not yet,” Dean says. “I still need to ask her.”

Castiel watches Dean squirm and fidget under all of the attention. He’s obviously not used to being the center of attention, and it doesn’t look like he’s enjoying it. Castiel is so stupid! Of course Dean isn’t gay. He radiates heterosexual jock energy, and girls always love that. Apparently Castiel loves it too, but that’s beside the point. He never stood a chance, and he didn’t even realize he wanted one until it got taken away from him.

Monday, November 16

7:55 pm

* * *

Dean loves the rich woodsy smell of the Novak’s old horse barn, but it’s quickly become masked by the thick aroma of paint now covering the walls. They’ve been painting in here for over an hour now, and the noxious fumes are giving him a headache. Castiel tried opening the doors and a window, but it isn’t helping much.

Naomi had agreed to let Cas use the barn for him and his friends’ new headquarters instead of the gazebo they’ve been using as long as they painted it themselves. She’s been taking part in a self-help group that is designed to help her “let go,” and this week’s project is about giving up control. That’s why she’d decided to let her seventeen year old son paint the walls instead of hiring a professional painter to do it. She is hiring someone to put in mirrors along one of the walls because this is going to be their new at-home gym as well as Castiel’s headquarters, but the painting is left up to him. Castiel picked a bright shade of blue to paint the walls since he says it’s a comforting color. Dean can’t help but agree with him as he looks into Cas’s bright blue eyes.

Right now Dean is up on a ladder trying to paint the areas they can’t reach when he hears Castiel ask how he’s doing. “I’m almost done,” he replies, dipping his brush into the paint and raising it back to the wall for the finishing touches.

Dean knows what they’ve been planning to do to Crowley later is wrong, but he can’t find a way to get himself out of it. If he did, Castiel might kick him back out of his friend group, and he doesn’t want that to happen. Castiel had just officially invited him to become a B.L.U. which stands for “Boy Like Us,” now that Crowley has been dumped from the group. Dean isn’t going to turn that down after he’s worked so hard to be accepted by them.

“I’m officially declaring this place B.L.U. Headquarters,” Castiel says when Dean finishes. Dean tries not to laugh. His neighbor can be so extra sometimes. “Well except for when my mom uses it to host her yoga group.”

Dean hops down from the ladder now that he’s finished and walks over to where he put his water bottle. “Have you heard back from Missouri yet?” he asks.

Castiel quickly checks his messages. “Yes! We are going to be models!” He runs over to Dean and hugs him, even going so far as to pick him up and swing him around in a surprising show of strength. When Castiel puts him back down, Dean tries to hide how flustered he is by taking another sip of his water.

“Now that it’s official, I can’t wait to tell Lisa,” Dean says excitedly. Castiel shoots him a look, but then quickly turns away. He’s been doing that every time Dean so much as mentions Lisa, and he’s starting to get pretty sick of it. “What?” Dean asks.

“You’re not going to be one of those guys who starts dating someone and immediately forgets about his friends, are you?” Castiel asks harshly.

“I can do two things at once, Cas,” Dean jokes. “I’m good at multi-tasking.” Castiel looks down. It seems like he wants to say something, but he’s holding back for some reason. “Spit it out, Cas.”

“I don’t think she’s good for you,” Castiel says quietly.

“Cause you know her so well,” Dean replies sarcastically.

“I just think you can do a lot better.”

Now Dean is starting to get angry. “You don’t know anything about her,” he says. “And you don’t know me.” The look of hurt on Castiel's face almost makes him immediately take it back. Dean doesn’t want to hurt him, but it’s true. Cas doesn’t know him. Not really.

“I know I don’t,” Castiel says quietly, “But I thought I was starting to get to know you.”

“You are, Cas. I’m sorry,” Dean apologizes. “I just don’t get why you even care. I thought you’d be happy for me.” Castiel doesn’t respond, he just turns around to start cleaning up their painting supplies. Then it suddenly clicks. “Wait, are you jealous?” Dean asks.

Castiel pales. “Why would I be jealous?”

“You like Lisa,” Dean says. “You’re jealous that she likes me and not you.”

“No Dean, that’s not true,” Castiel says angrily.

“It is!” Dean raises his voice to match Cas’s. “You can’t even let me have this one thing. Why do you think you deserve everything? You’re such a spoiled BRAT!”

Castiel’s face hardens. “What reason would I have to be jealous? She’s just a boring jock. You guys are perfect for each other.”

Dean rolls his eyes and picks up his things so he can leave. He’s so done with this conversation. “Glad I could help you paint,” he says sarcastically as he leaves the barn and slams the door closed behind him. Castiel is such a child. When he’s ready to apologize Dean will listen, but he sure as hell isn’t going to be the first one to try and mend fences. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that didn't go well, did it? Silly, silly boys


	17. Maybe I Don't Quite Know What To Say

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since I've updated this one. Been having a bit of writers block on where I wanted it to go. I know where I want it to eventually go, but it's the in-between that's been giving me trouble haha

Monday, November 16

8:30pm

* * *

Balthazar and Gabriel admire the freshly painted barn while Castiel does his best to pretend like he’s fine. Crowley should be getting here any minute. Dean should be here too, but Castiel did a great job of pushing him away. He’s most likely ruined their friendship before it even really had a chance to start. It’s not Dean’s fault that Castiel has unrequited feelings for him. He’s jealous of Lisa and took it out on Dean by not only insulting her but also insulting him as well. Dean is right. Castiel doesn’t really know anything about him.

They hear a knock on the barn door. That has to be Crowley. Castiel makes sure the other boys are in position before he opens the door. “Welcome to B.L.U. Headquarters!” Castiel spreads his arms wide to show off their new digs. “We’re glad you decided to come.”

Crowley looks suspicious about his friendly tone. He should be. “I’m glad you’re ready to apologize,” Crowley says. “I’ve been missing-“

  
“Who said anything about apologizing?” Castiel takes a step towards him. He’s flanked on either side by Gabe and Balthazar. Dean should be here too, but Castiel fucked that part up.

“Can I at least come in?” Crowley asks. Castiel steps out of the way so Crowley can check out the barn. The place is a mess. They hadn’t had time to clean up all of the painting supplies before Crowley got here.

“We need to talk,” Castiel says, his tone turning harsh. He can see Crowley stiffen.

“About what?” Crowley asks, his eyes narrowing.

“About how your chocolate has been in my peanut butter for way too long.” Castiel grabs his arm and walks him over to where he’d set up the white board that he’d used for the bet with Dean. “This represents our friendship for the past few weeks.” Crowley’s mouth drops open when he sees what’s on the board. “Right here,” Castiel points to the left side of the board, “We have the Hancock student body elections.” He thinks Crowley can see where this is going, but in case he can’t, Castiel is going to spell it out for him. “We know you cheated, Crowley.”

The shorter boy gasps. “You can’t prove that!”

“We can,” Balthazar says, putting his hands on his hips.

“I cast my vote on a blue piece of paper for good luck,” Castiel explains. “When we checked the boxes after the winner was announced, my blue ballot was in your box. You switched our boxes.” He watches as Crowley’s face first pales and then grows red. “But wait, there’s more!” Castiel points at Gabriel, signaling that it’s his turn to speak.

“There will no longer be an enforced Hancock uniform,” Gabe explains and Crowley’s eyebrows raise up in surprise. “That’s right. We went to Principal Richings the day after the election and explained how you guys had switched the boxes. My dad made it very clear that if Hancock went forward with the uniform idea, he’d expose the school the next time he had to do a public appearance interview.”

“So there’s no uniform?” Crowley asks.

“It’s done,” Castiel snaps his fingers.

“Done,” Balthazar parrots.

“And done,” Gabe smirks.

“But don’t worry, Crowley, you can keep the class president title. Everyone knows it’s meaningless anyways,” Castiel says smugly. “Next!”

Bathazar steps forward. “Here’s your official notice that you’re no longer invited to Castiel’s weekly sleepovers.” Castiel can see that Crowley is actually starting to tear up.

“And finally,” Castiel says. “I think this last part speaks for itself.” He points towards the right side of the board where he wrote two names. On the left is Crowley’s name. There’s a big red ‘x’ across his name. On the right of that is Dean’s name which has been circled. Castiel watches as the tears spill over, and Crowley begins to cry. He turns around and runs out of the barn. Gabriel and Balthazar high-five, but Castiel instantly feels a pit in his stomach. This was supposed to make himself feel better, not worse.

Monday, November 16

8:47pm

* * *

Dean finds himself walking aimlessly around the yard. He’s pissed off at Cas, but he’s also just upset. He’d thought they were starting to become friends finally, but it all went wrong somehow. He sees the door to the barn open, and Crowley runs out with tears streaming down his face. _What the hell?_

He watches as Crowley runs to the circular driveway and pulls out his cellphone to make a call, probably to ask his driver to come pick him up.

Dean knows they aren’t friends. Hell, Crowley has been the meanest to him out of any of them, but Dean can’t just stand there while someone sobs as hard as he is right now. He walks over to the driveway, hoping this isn’t a big mistake on his part.

“Hey,” Dean says when he gets within earshot. He watches Crowley immediately stiffen and go to wipe his eyes. “Why are you crying?”

“Castiel,” he answers simply as if he doesn’t need to explain further than that. Dean guesses he doesn’t. He knows how mean Castiel can be if you’re on his bad side.

Dean laughs lightly, and Crowley turns to look at him. “Yeah he got me before he went for you.”

Crowley is silent for a moment. “Dean, I’m sorry if I ever made you feel as bad as I feel right now.” He looks down at the ground while he speaks, but Dean can tell he’s being sincere.

“It’s okay, man,” Dean says awkwardly. “It’s water under the bridge.”

Crowley nods. They both look up when they see a limo pull into the driveway with its headlights on bright. “Don’t trust him, Dean,” Crowley says seriously, looking him in the eye. “He’ll make you feel really special and then the second he’s done with you, he’ll throw you away… and they’ll let him.” Dean assumes he’s talking about Gabriel and Balthazar then.

He doesn’t want to think of Castiel as being that kind of person, but the evidence speaks for itself. He knows there are reasons why Cas acts the way he does, but that doesn’t excuse it. Crowley gets into the limo and drives away with a small wave.

Tuesday, November 17

7:55am

* * *

Castiel spent all night wondering if he’d been too harsh on Crowley. In their entire lives he’s only seen Crowley cry like that twice: once when he broke his ankle skiing one year in Vermont, and the second time when he’d found out his grandmother died. Castiel keeps reminding himself that Crowley started all of this, and there’s no telling what he’s going to do now that he’s been this humiliated. He is tired of all of the fighting. He wants it to stop but doesn’t know if that’s possible anymore.

He leans back in his seat of the Range Rover, tuning back in to the carpool conversation. Dean is riding with them today since he’s officially a part of their group now. He’s still angry at Castiel, but he hasn’t said anything to the others thankfully. It could get a little awkward if he had to explain why Dean was angry at him.

“Dean, is this more fun than riding with Benny?” Gabriel asks.

“It’s definitely different,” Dean says diplomatically.

“So, who wants to go holiday shopping this Saturday?” Castiel asks the car. 

“It’s only Tuesday,” Dean laughs and then seems to quickly remember he’s supposed to be ignoring him.

Castiel rolls his eyes. “So?” He likes to firm up his weekend plans as early as possible, because even the thought of too much alone time gives him anxiety.

“I can’t,” Gabriel grabs a granola bar out of the mini fridge. “My dad is taking me and my brother to our Hampton house for a long weekend.”

“What about you, Zar?” He asks.

“I’ll be at the mall, I just won’t be shopping,” he sighs. “But if you buy any gifts I can definitely wrap them for you!”

“Gross,” Castiel says, turning to Dean. “What about you?” He immediately regrets asking the question for two reasons: first, he knows Dean can’t afford to shop in the places he can, and second, he doesn’t want to get rejected… again.

“I would love to, but every Saturday I go to the movies with Benny,” Dean says. At least he sounds sincere. Castiel sighs. Crowley may have lied, cheated, and deceived him, but he never would’ve said no to a shopping trip. “Unless we can take Benny with us.”

Castiel wants to yell ‘I adopted you, not that burly, bearded freak!’ but he doesn’t. He can’t afford to piss Dean off even more than he already has. He needs him now that Crowley is gone. “Has Benny even shopped at a mall before?” Castiel can’t resist asking. “Does he know that everything they sell is new?” Gabriel and Balthazar burst out laughing, but Dean’s gaze hardens.

“Forget it,” Dean says. “Maybe we should stick to our usual plan.”

“Oh, come on, I was kidding!” Castiel can’t believe he’s begging to hang out with Dean and Benny at the mall, but this is what his life has come to apparently. It’s all Crowley’s fault.

Dean looks at him awkwardly for a moment. “Let’s just do it another time,” he says.

“That’s probably better,” Castiel mumbles. Inias pulls the car into the school parking lot, and Castiel watches as Crowley and Brady step from the MacLeod’s limo with matching curly perms. They look amazing. Getting a curly perm was something Crowley had always talked about doing with him, but that was _before_.

Friday, November 20

7:55pm

* * *

Castiel puts the finishing touches on B.L.U. Headquarters because the boys are going to get here any minute. He’d invited Dean to the sleepover, but he isn’t sure if his neighbor is going to join them. Castiel knows he needs to apologize, so he’s hoping to be able to do that before Gabriel and Balthazar show up. Assuming Dean shows up at all.

There’s a timid knock on the door. Castiel gets up to open it and sees that it’s Dean. His expression is guarded, but at least he’s here. “Come in,” Castiel says.

Dean steps inside hesitantly and then crosses his arms.

“Dean, I’m sorry,” Castiel says quietly.

“For what?” Dean asks, eyes narrowed.

“For making assumptions about your relationship with Lisa,” he says. “You were right. I really don’t know either of you and it wasn’t my place to judge. For calling you a dumb jock.” Castiel isn’t finished yet, but he can see that Dean is starting to quirk a smile even though he’s trying to hide it. “And most importantly, I’m sorry for bullying you at the beginning of the school year. I really hope you can forgive me.”

“Wow, Cas,” Dean says, smiling for real this time. “I’m impressed! I forgive you.” Castiel smiles, feeling like a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. “My turn: I’m sorry I called you a spoiled brat, Cas. We were both angry and in the heat of the moment we said some things we didn’t mean. Do you forgive me?”

Castiel feels like his smile is so big it must be splitting his face in half. He nods, and Dean leans forward to give him a hug. Castiel hugs him back and can’t help noticing how right it feels to have Dean in his arms like this. He lets go of the hug, not because he wants to but because he has to. Dean likes Lisa, not him. That’s a hard fact he’s going to have to come to terms with if he wants to stay Dean’s friend. He’d rather have Dean in his life as just a friend than as nothing at all.

He can see that Dean is blushing slightly after Castiel pulls away from the hug. Thankfully they’re interrupted from any potential awkward moments by the sound of knocking on the door.

Castiel opens the door to reveal Balthazar and Gabriel. “Hey guys!”

“Did we come to the right place?” Gabriel laughs. “The barn looks totally different!” He’s referring to the fact that Naomi had brought in all of her exercise gear after he and Dean had finished painting the place the other day. Castiel set up all of their sleeping bags and snacks on one side of the room and the exercise gear is at the other side.

“How much did this whole thing cost?” Balthazar asks, looking around at all of the fancy workout equipment and the row of plasma TVs that hung above four different types of cardio machines.

“I don’t know,” Castiel says, confused why they’d care. “A million dollars or something. Whatever.” He hears Dean cough out a stunned laugh to his right.

“Gabriel told me to ask,” Balthazar shrugs.

“I did not!”

They all burst out laughing, and Castiel is so glad to have his friends back together with him, Dean included. The only thing that makes it less than perfect is that Crowley isn’t here.

After they break into the snacks, Castiel decides it’s time for a good game of Truth. He wants to make sure that they’re solid as a friend group, and the best way to do that is to share secrets. He’s not looking forward to sharing his, but trust is a two way street. If he wants them to trust him, he has to trust them too.

“Anybody up for a game of Truth?” He asks. They all wait for him to explain what that would entail. “I think we should all go around and share a secret we haven’t told anyone.” He sees all of their eyes widen in fear. “Whatever we say won’t leave this room. We have to all promise that because that’s the only way this is going to work.”

“Promise,” Dean says.

“Promise,” Gabriel and Balthazar say together.

“But I don’t want to go first!” Balthazar says loudly and then covers his mouth. The other boys chuckle nervously not wanting to go first either. Castiel knows he needs to bite the bullet and start this so that they can trust him. He knows a lot of their friendship has been based on fear, and he’s tired of being a bully.

“I’ll go first, but before I do I’m going to need some liquid courage.” The boys cheer at that. “I’ll be right back.”

Castiel practically runs back to the main house. He’s absolutely petrified about what he’s about to tell them, but another part of him is relieved that it’ll finally be out there. When he gets back to the barn he passes around cups for everyone to drink out of and pours a bit of bourbon into each of them.

He takes a sip of his and closes his eyes as he feels the burn go down his throat. He feels like his heart is up in his throat. He doesn’t know how he’s going to be able to get through this. Dean must be able to see how nervous he is, because he pats him on the back encouragingly.

“It’s okay,” Dean says. “You’re among friends.” Castiel can tell he’s making a joke to lighten the mood, but he appreciates it.

Castiel takes one more swig of bourbon and then forces, “imgay” out of his mouth as fast as he can. The other boys look at him in confusion. They must not have been able to understand him. He takes a deep breath. “I’m gay,” he says quietly. He takes in the three shocked faces in front of him, and he feels like his face is on fire. “I like boys.”

Balthazar throws up his hands and lets out a celebratory _whoop!_ “Welcome to the club, Cassie!”

Gabriel smiles at him. “I’m happy for you, Cassie!”

Dean still looks perplexed. “I thought you had a crush on Lisa?”

Castiel tries to keep himself from getting angry, but he also doesn’t want to talk about the fight they had. He’s fine with them knowing he’s gay, but there’s no way he wants anybody knowing he has a crush on Dean. “I told you I didn’t like her,” he says trying to keep his tone even. Dean had made that assumption during their fight. The person he’d been jealous of wasn’t Dean, it was Lisa.

Dean still looks shocked, but Castiel is going to move this along. He’s tired of being in the spotlight. “Who’s next?”

“I’ll go I guess,” Gabriel sighs. “My dad is having an affair with the woman who plays Dr. Piccolo.” Everyone gasps. Gabriel immediately turns to Dean since he knows he’s a fan of Dr. Sexy M.D. “Please don’t freak out about this. It’s my family, and seeing everyone ship the actors just because their characters are together on the show is really upsetting… especially since we just found out it’s true. My parents might be getting a divorce.”

Everyone gives Gabe a hug and tells him that they’ll be there to support him in any way they can. He gives them a sad smile.

Balthazar says he’ll go next. He takes a deep breath, and shoots Dean a small smile that Dean returns. _What’s that about?_ “You know how you pick me up every morning at the Harborside Hotel for carpool?”

“Yeah,” they all reply, waiting with bated breath for what he’s going to say next.

“Well, I kinda don’t live there…”

“Huh?” Gabriel asks.

“I live in the apartment building next door.” Balthazar mumbles, putting his head in his hands.

“Ew, why?” Castiel asks.

“We’re poor.” Castiel doesn’t know what to say. He looks around at the other boys. Gabriel looks shocked, but Dean just looks concerned. “I shouldn’t have told you.” Balthazar sounds like he might be close to crying now.

“Yes, you should have,” Castiel says. “We’re just processing.” Suddenly everything starts to make sense. The after school job, the constant worrying about money, the lack of designer clothes. “Wait, I thought your dad was a rich art dealer?”

“He isn’t anymore,” Balthazar sighs. “That’s why I never invited you guys over.”

“I’d always wondered about that,” Gabriel says, “But I thought your parents were just too uptight.”

“Well they are, but that wasn’t the reason,” Balthazar says.

Castiel has another question. “How can you afford to go to Hancock?”

“I’m on a scholarship,” Balthazar explains. “Did you guys really think I cared that much about grades? I have to maintain a certain GPA to keep getting the scholarship money. You know the benefit your family hosts every year?” He looks towards Castiel who nods. “This year the money went to fund my scholarship.”

“No way, that’s so cool!” Castiel says, and he means it. He was a bit shocked at first, but now that he’s had time to wrap his head around it, it makes a lot of sense.

“I can’t believe this is the first time you’re telling anybody!” Gabriel exclaims.

Balthazar and Dean share another look. “Actually Dean knows.”

“What?!” Castiel can’t help being offended. “Dean knew one of your secrets before I did?” Dean shoves him lightly on the arm and mouths at him to ‘chill.’

Balthazar chuckles, “Well I thought I was telling you but it was when Dean was IM’ing us from your computer.” They all laugh about that time. It's crazy to think it was only a few months ago.

“And Dean, you never told anybody?” Castiel asks him.

Balthazar answers for him. “Nope, he was actually really cool about it.” The two of them smile at each other again, and Castiel has to admit he’s impressed. Dean hasn’t told anybody about the secrets the two of them share either, and now he knows he can trust he won’t.

They all look towards Dean now that it’s his turn. Castiel is very curious what he’s going to say. He desperately wants to know him better, but he has to remind himself that this is purely platonic.

“I almost got sent to juvenile detention last year,” Dean says, and they all gasp.

“What did you do?” Castiel asks.

“Got caught stealing,” Dean says. “We didn’t have any money, and my dad…” He trails off. “I stole some peanut butter and bread so I could make sure my little brother had something to eat.”

Everyone goes completely quiet. Castiel doesn’t even know what to say. He’s heard about how some people don’t have money to buy food, but it’s completely outside of his reality. He hadn’t thought that someone he knows might have gone through something like that.

Balthazar leans over and gives Dean a hug. Gabriel and Castiel quickly join in so that they’re all in a big group hug. After they break apart they all smile at each other, knowing that after tonight their relationships with each other have definitely changed for the better. Now Castiel just has to find a way to fix things with Crowley.


	18. But I'm Here in Your Doorway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel has no idea what to expect when he opens the door to the gazebo, but he doesn’t think he’d ever be able to imagine this.

Saturday, November 21

6:30pm

* * *

Dean is pacing back and forth around his room. He’s supposed to have his first real date with Lisa soon, and his stomach is tied up with knots. Not just because he’s about to officially start dating the hottest girl at Hancock, but also because he’d had a horrible fight with his father that morning.

John had started drinking again. Unsurprisingly. Every time he gets sober, it’s only a matter of time before he starts drinking again. This time his excuse is that Mary’s birthday is coming up, but her birthday is December 5th. It’s still November. Thanksgiving is this week, and they’ve been invited to spend the holiday with the Novaks. John needs to get sobered up before then. Dean has tried so many times to talk to his father about this, but nothing seems to help. Every time he tries to diplomatically bring it up, John gets really defensive or even violent. Today was one of the days when he got violent. It got bad enough that Dean had to yell at Sam to go to his room and lock the door while Dean bore the brunt of his father’s rage. He has the bruises and black eye to prove it.

There’s no way he can go on a date with Lisa looking like this. There’d be no way to explain it. It looks like he either got in a nasty fight with someone or that his dad is a drunken, abusive asshole. Neither explanation is something he’d want to have to talk about on a first date.

He stops pacing now that he’s made his decision. He picks up the phone and dials Lisa’s number.

“Hey, you!” She answers cheerfully, and he feels awful.

“Hey, Lis.”

“What’s wrong?” She asks, picking up on his tone immediately.

“I’m really sorry, but there’s been kind of a family thing that I need to take care of, and I have to cancel our date.” He bites his fingernail while he waits for her response.

“Oh, is everything okay?” She asks, sounding concerned. Dean figured she’d be annoyed or upset, but she sounds genuinely worried about him.

“It will be,” he tries to boost his voice with fake optimism. “Can we reschedule? I was really looking forward to taking you out.”

“I’d love that!” She says, and he exhales in relief. “Maybe we can try for next Saturday?”

“That would be perfect,” Dean exclaims. They talk for a bit longer, but then he says he needs to go. He can hear John’s thumping footsteps heading up the stairs.

After he hangs up, he runs over to Sam’s room which is next to his own. “Sammy, do you have any friends you could go stay with for the night?” They can both hear John’s footsteps getting louder. He’s obviously very intoxicated since it’s taking him forever to get up the stairs. “Sammy, focus!”

“Uh, I could probably stay with my friend Barry,” Sammy says. Dean can tell he’s scared. _How dare John make his own son scared like that?_ He gives Sam a quick hug.

“Stay in the closet,” Dean orders. “When he’s distracted, pack a bag and head out to the gazebo. We’ll call Barry and see if he can pick you up.”

“You mean _you’re_ going to distract him?” Sam asks unhappily.

“Yes. Now go!” Dean pushes him towards the closet.

Sam gives him a worried look but does as he’s told. Dean manages to get out of Sam’s room and into the hallway before John reaches the top of the stairs.

“Where’s Sammy?” John slurs. “I need to talk to my boys.”

“He’s sleeping over at a friend’s house tonight,” Dean says, keeping himself in front of Sam’s bedroom door. “I thought I told you that.”

“You never tell me anything,” John says angrily. “Worthless piece of shit.”

“I tell you, but you’re too drunk to remember any of it!” Dean yells. He’s trying to make John angry to give Sammy time to get out of the house. It works. John backhands him so hard it takes a few seconds for his head to clear enough to run into his own room. John follows him continuing to yell profanities at him. Dean isn’t even sure some of them are actual words.

John knocks his legs out from under him so he falls over. From his position on the ground he can see Sammy running down the hallway holding a duffel bag. At least that means he’s out of the way. He grunts as John kicks him in the ribs. Dean just lays there and takes it, too tired to try to keep fighting back. Eventually John gets tired and slumps down to the ground crying. Dean grabs the cellphone Cas gave him and limps out of the room and down the stairs.

He quickly shoots a text off to Cas because he doesn’t know what else to do at this point.

**Dean: Gazebo**

**Cas: What?**

**Dean: Please just come**

Dean hobbles across the lawn, hoping that the Novaks don’t happen to look out their windows and see him. He wouldn’t be able to explain that. He makes it to the gazebo and hands his phone over to Sam so he can call Barry. Then he passes out.

Saturday, November 21

7:01pm

* * *

Castiel has no idea what to expect when he opens the door to the gazebo, but he doesn’t think he’d ever be able to imagine this. Sam is crying while talking on the phone to someone, and Dean is bloody, bruised, and unconscious.

Castiel immediately pulls out his phone to call 9-11, but Sam grabs his hand. “Don’t!”

“What do you mean?” Castiel asks, trying to pull his hand away. “He needs to go to the hospital!”

Dean groans and opens his eyes. “Cas, you made it.”

Castiel kneels down to get a look at Dean. Almost his entire face is purple and swollen. He can barely see his beautiful green eyes. He looks over at Sam who still has tears rolling down his cheeks. “What happened?”

Sam replies, “Our dad,” at the same time that Dean groans, “I was mugged.” Sam shoots a glare at his brother, and Castiel is just confused. He’s sure that Mr. Winchester did this given how he’s already overheard him yelling drunkenly and throwing things at Dean. Physically harming him isn’t that crazy of an escalation. So why is Dean covering for him?

“If you won’t let me call 9-11, at least let me get my dad,” Castiel grabs on to Dean’s hand and tries to keep Dean’s eyes focused on his own.

“No, Cas,” Dean moans. “I’m fine.”

Castiel looks up at Sam. “Why is he covering for him?” He asks angrily.

“If we say that it was Dad who did this, best case scenario Dad would lose his job and we’d be kicked out of here making us homeless again.” Castiel wants to interrupt and say that he wouldn’t let that happen, but Sam holds his hand up signaling he’s not done. “Worst case scenario he’d be charged with assault and Child Protective Services would get involved. Dean could probably become an emancipated teen, but I’m too young. The system would take me, and I’d probably get separated from Dean.”

Castiel is so torn. He doesn’t know how to react to any of this. His parents never yell at him, and he’s never seen them drink to the point of being violent. They may get a bit drunk at parties but nothing like this. He knows he is not equipped to handle this, but he also knows he doesn’t know enough about the situation to make a decision for them.

“Cas,” Sam says, using Dean’s nickname for him. “We have been through this so many times, believe me when I say that getting the police or CPS involved is not going to help us.”

“What do you need me to do?” Castiel asks, his voice shaking.

“I’m going to stay at a friend’s house, and I need you to take care of Dean,” Sam says, ignoring Dean’s grumbled ‘no.’ He turns to glare at Dean before continuing. “He’s going to be grumpy about it, but don’t listen to him.”

Castiel looks down at Dean who tries to muster a smile when they make eye contact, but it looks more like a grimace. “Okay.” Sam gives him a small pat on the shoulder and then heads out to the driveway to wait for his friend to pick him up for the night. “Dean, what do you need me to do?” He asks.

“Well first of all, I need you to get that panicked look off of your face,” Dean says. “I’m fine.” Castiel rolls his eyes, but does try to take a couple deep breaths to calm himself down. He needs to be here for Dean right now. He can’t freak out. “Then I’m going to need a first aid kit and some ice.” Castiel nods and runs off quickly to do as he’s told. He can follow Dean’s instructions easily. It gives him something to do that doesn’t involve freaking out and accidentally tipping his parents off to what’s going on.

He knows that they keep a first aid kit in the closet by the kitchen, so he goes to grab that first. He can hear his parents talking quietly in the living room while they watch TV, so he tries to be as stealthy as possible. After he grabs the first aid kit, he goes to the kitchen to get some ice packs. By the time he gets back to the gazebo, he can see that Dean’s tried to prop himself up against the wall, but his head is lolling a bit to the side.

“Dean.” The green eyed boy looks up with a small smile. “What do I need to do?”

Dean reaches towards him to grab the first aid kit. Castiel stands to the side awkwardly as Dean begins patching himself up. He wants to help, but it’s clear that his neighbor has done this many times before if the practiced way he bandages himself up is anything to go by.

“So Cas,” Dean says conversationally as he applies some peroxide to one of the deeper gashes on his cheek. “I didn’t get to officially welcome you to the LGBT club.”

Castiel can’t help but stiffen slightly at the mention of his sexuality. Even though he came out to his friends, he’s not ready for the general public to know. He’s only starting to come to terms with it himself. “I’d appreciate it if we could keep that B.L.U. business,” he says quietly, picking up an icepack to hold gently against Dean’s swollen right cheek.

Dean winces slightly at the first cold touch of the icepack against his skin but then relaxes. “I’m not going to tell anybody, Cas. I’m only out to a couple friends right now too, so I get it.”

Castiel is confused. “But I thought you were dating Lisa?” He phrases it like a question, hoping it comes across as innocent and not loaded.

Dean gives him a look that’s not quite a glare, but also isn’t friendly. “Bisexuality is a thing, Cas,” Dean chuckles. “I like both girls and boys.”

Oh _._ He hadn’t thought about it like that. Castiel goes back to holding the ice against Dean’s face when he’s smacked in the head with a sudden thought. If Dean is bisexual, does that mean he has a chance with him after all? Probably not because he’s dating Lisa and most likely isn’t attracted to him in the first place. Add on top of that the fact that he’d made Dean’s life miserable for the first couple months he’d lived here. That doesn’t make for a solid relationship foundation. Still, Castiel can’t help the feeling of hope that’s starting to grow behind his ribs.

“Well thanks for the welcome, I guess,” Castiel shoots him a small smile. He continues to ice down Dean’s wounds for a moment while he thinks. “It would probably be more believable around here if you said you got these injuries while hiking.” Dean looks back up at him when he speaks. “Bar Harbor isn’t exactly known for its aggravated assaults.”

Dean huffs out a laugh. “Good point.”

The two of them finish patching Dean up, and Castiel checks his phone. It’s almost 8:30. He has to get back to the house for his nightly walk with his dad or he’ll get suspicious. He helps Dean back to the guest house, and once he’s safely inside he rushes back to his own house to get ready for their walk. The entire time his mind is racing with possibilities. He knows he shouldn’t get his hopes up, but it’s hard not to. Dean likes boys. Maybe Castiel does have a shot.

Monday, November 23

3:31pm

* * *

Castiel walks over to the section of the sidewalk where he usually meets the other boys after school. Inias should be there any minute to pick them up, but he doesn’t see them anywhere. He spins around in a full circle looking for Balthazar’s blond hair and finally spots him standing with Gabriel and Crowley in the shade of one of the big pine trees that decorate the courtyard in between the boys’ school and the girls’ school.

He ducks behind the sign that says “Hancock School for Boys” in big navy letters and peeks around the side to watch. The three of them seem to be in the middle of an intense conversation with one of them looking up to see if anyone is eavesdropping every few seconds. _Why are they talking to Crowley without him? What could they possibly be talking about?_ He almost jumps out of his skin when a firm hand clamps down on his shoulder. He lets out a childish squeak and hears his favorite laugh come from behind him. It’s Dean.

“What the fuck!” Castiel hisses at him.

It takes Dean a good thirty seconds to control his laughter while Castiel glares at him the whole time. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you curse before,” he finally manages to get out.

“You startled me!”

“I was just going to say that you’re already creepy enough when you stare at people, Cas, you don’t have to add in hiding behind things as well,” Dean chuckles.

Castiel rolls his eyes but steps back out onto the sidewalk to their usual meeting spot. He sees Inias making his way through the pick-up line and looks over towards where the three boys had been huddled. Crowley is nowhere to be seen, but Gabriel and Balthazar are heading this way.

“You guys are late,” Castiel says stiffly when they join up with him and Dean on the sidewalk. He feels Dean give him a light shove on the shoulder, probably telling him to relax, but he can’t. There’s nothing he hates more than being on the outside of things. Especially when it involves his ex-best friend that he’s been fighting for the past few weeks.

The two of them make up excuses about being held after class, but Castiel knows they’re lying because he’d seen them with Crowley. He’s trying to figure out if he should call them on it when Inias honks the horn to tell them to hurry up. At least the car ride home will give him time to think.

Monday, November 23

4:47pm

* * *

Dean steps out of the Range Rover right behind Castiel. Today had been his fifth time carpooling with the boys as an official B.L.U. member and so far nobody has said a single mean word to him. He’s honestly kind of surprised, but the boys have been acting like he’s their new best friend. He wonders if he’ll ever be able to fully let his guard down around them after the torment they put him through at the beginning of the school year. He wants to let it go, but it’s easier to forgive than to forget.

“So you’re telling me you didn’t notice anything weird about Zar and Gabe today?” Castiel asks, shifting back and forth in his new dress shoes. They’re standing in the yard between their two houses before parting ways for dinner. “Nothing at all?”

“They were a little quiet,” Dean says. He thinks Castiel is being paranoid, but he knows saying that isn’t going to help anything. “Maybe they’re upset that we said we were going to study together tonight.”

“But we’ve been doing that since last week,” Castiel says, his voice rising slightly in pitch. “It hasn’t bothered them before.”

“I don’t know,” Dean says, looking for the right thing to say. Castiel is finally confiding in him, and he doesn’t want to let him down. “Maybe they don’t like having me around.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, he wishes he could take them back. It makes him sound insecure and needy.

“Please,” Castiel rolls his eyes. “If I like you, they like you.”

“Oh.” That doesn’t make Dean feel any better. It reminds him of what Crowley had told him the other day. About how when Castiel decides he’s done with someone, he dumps them and Gabe and Zar go along with it. He feels like there’s an empty, almost hungry feeling inside of his stomach.

“Anyways,” Castiel sighs. “It’s probably nothing. Do you want to work in my room again tonight?”

“Sure. I’ll make a new playlist,” Dean says.

“I’ll text you when we’re done with dinner,” Castiel’s smile comes back. “See you soon, buffoon!”

“In a while, imbecile!” Dean giggles and heads off towards the guest house.

Dean stands shivering in the hallway once he gets inside. It is really starting to get cold here! Of course he knew winters in Maine were going to be a lot rougher than what he was used to back in Kansas, but it’s been hard to adjust. His dad’s leather jacket may look awesome, but it doesn’t do a good job of blocking out the winter chill in the air. These days he’s been wearing a long sleeve shirt under his usual flannel and jacket combo, but it doesn’t help much. Sam has taken to wearing scarves, but Dean would rather freeze his balls off than look like a sissy. Castiel did promise to take him shopping for a better coat over Thanksgiving break which is only a few days away. He’ll just have to suffer through the cold until then.

When he gets upstairs to his bedroom he notices that Sam is inside sitting on his bed. “Hey,” Dean says, dropping his things on the floor by his desk.

Sam looks at him with those puppy dog eyes of his. “Are you okay?” He asks.

Dean plasters on his usual smile. “Of course.” Honestly it isn’t as bad as it looks. His ribs are a bit sore, and his face is a mess, but it’s not the worst beating he’s ever gotten. He did catch a lot of concerned looks from other students as well as faculty today. Dean guesses not many students show up at this fancy private school in this fancy town with bruises and gashes all over them. Thankfully nobody commented on it, but maybe that’s because Dean glared at anyone who so much as looked his way today.

Sam raises his eyebrows at him. He obviously doesn’t believe him, but what is Dean supposed to say? It’s his job as an older brother to protect Sam, even if that means he sometimes has to protect him from their own father.

“I’m fine, Sammy,” Dean groans.

Sam stares at him for a prolonged moment, probably trying to see if he can force Dean to say something else. What he doesn’t know is that Dean has gotten very good at not cracking under intense eye contact so he just stares back silently until Sam sighs and leaves the room with a mumbled, “I’ll get you more ice.”

While Sam is gone, Dean’s phone rings. He looks down at it and sees that it’s Crowley. At first he doesn’t want to answer it because he doesn’t want to get more involved in all of this constant fighting. He has enough drama in his life as it is, but after the fifth ring he sighs and answers it.

“We need to talk,” Crowley says by way of introduction.

“Crowley, I don’t know if…“ He starts, but Crowley interrupts him.

“Dean, listen to me,” Crowley says forcefully. “Castiel is not who you think he is. I mean come on, you of all people should know that!” Dean wants to argue with him, but he can’t find the words for some reason. “Did you know that you’re not the first newcomer that he’s taken under his wing? When Balthazar moved here during middle school, Castiel bullied him mercilessly for almost an entire year before we finally became friends with him. That’s why when you first came here, and he started doing the same thing with you, I asked him if you were going to become his new best friend. He told me unequivocally that he was never going to consider you a friend. Ever!”

Dean stays silent, but he can tell Crowley is giving him time to process what he’s saying. He feels like there’s a lump the size of a golf ball in his throat, and it’s making it hard for him to breathe.

Crowley continues, “Even when you started hanging out with us for the party planning and stuff like that, he still complained about you constantly. He said he wished you guys would move so he wouldn’t have to fake it anymore."

“What?” Dean’s voice sounds tiny in his head, but he assumes Crowley heard him because he keeps going.

“Let me guess, he’s been treating you like his best friend now. You study and listen to music together. He confides in you. You came up with silly rhyming nicknames to call each other whenever you say goodbye. You share secrets with each other as a way to build trust within the group. Any of this sounding familiar, Dean-o?” Dean feels like there’s ice shooting through his veins. “It’s what he does, Dean, and he’s the master at it. He can make you feel really special, but the truth of the matter is that he doesn’t care about you, and I can prove it.”

“H-how?” Dean stutters.

“He’s been trying to sabotage your relationship with Lisa before it even has a chance to start because he’s jealous,” Crowley says. “I’m pretty sure he likes her. The way he was acting at lunch when I read out the note she gave you made it clear. He’s jealous.”

That can’t be true. Castiel told them he’s gay so he can’t be into Lisa, right? Either way, that’s not exactly something he can say to Crowley. “I don’t think he likes her,” Dean says, hoping Crowley won’t ask him why he thinks that.

“Even if he doesn’t like her, he’s never going to let you date her,” Crowley explains. “He acts like this whenever any of us have a crush on someone. He did it when Gabe and I were fighting over Kali. He acted like his problem was with us fighting, but really he just doesn’t want any of us to have something he doesn’t. As long as he doesn’t have a girlfriend, he’ll make sure none of us do either. He can’t stand being left out of things.”

Dean has to admit that does sound like Castiel. That’s why he’d called Castiel a brat during their fight over Lisa. He had a suspicion that the reason Cas was so against him dating Lisa without knowing anything about her was because he didn’t want Dean to have something that he didn’t have.

“Son of a bitch,” he says under his breath. Memories of all of his interactions with his neighbor start flashing through his mind with sharp clarity as if he’s flipping through a scrapbook of glossy pictures: the constant bullying even after Castiel had found out about his problems with his father, the fake friendship that only came around when Castiel needed it to achieve his own ends, the ‘real’ friendship that started only after Crowley had been booted from the group. Crowley is right about everything!

The images come faster and faster until they’re playing like a horror movie. He can feel tears starting to prickle his eyes, but he holds them back from falling. How could he have let this happen? After all of those times he’d told himself not to trust Castiel and not to believe they could ever really be friends, somehow he’d still fallen for it. He doesn’t know who he’s angrier at, Castiel or himself.

“I’m sorry, Dean,” Crowley says quietly. “I know I’m far from blameless here. I really regret all of the things I said and did to you when you first got here. I know you probably won’t understand, but Castiel has this hold over us. He makes us feel really special and can convince us to do things we probably wouldn’t do on our own. I just hope you know that none of the bullying was our idea. It was always his, and we just went along with it. I know that doesn’t make it better, but I am sorry.”

Dean gasps in a lungful of air and really hopes it doesn’t sound like he’s crying over the phone. He wants to yell and get angry, but all that comes out of his mouth is a tiny, “I can’t believe he would do this.”

“I put something in your gym bag that I think will help,” Crowley says sympathetically from across the line. Dean runs over to where he’d flung his bag on the ground and opens it up to find a silky red tie. He wants to ask how the hell Crowley was able to get into his bag in the first place, but figures he probably had Brady do it during their soccer practice.

“How is a tie going to help?” Dean asks flatly.

“Wear it to school, and nobody will mess with you again. I promise,” Crowley says.

Dean doesn’t know who to believe anymore. It seems like everyone is only pretending to like him when they’re really just scheming about how to get back at and backstab each other. He makes up an excuse and hangs up the phone before he can embarrass himself further by crying on the phone.

He immediately goes to his bedroom window and closes the blinds so Castiel won’t be able to see him. Then he opens up his computer to see an unread message from Castiel asking if he’s ready to study together. He puts his IM status to “do not disturb,” and turns his borrowed cellphone to airplane mode so he won’t get any more messages. He doesn’t want to hear from Castiel now, tomorrow, or ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me!! I did warn y'all that this fic would be angsty haha


	19. I Had A Marvelous Time Ruining Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's been a long time! I had some stuff going on irl and also a bit of writers' block, but I'm back. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll try not to go that long between updates again.
> 
> Your comments make me smile

Wednesday, November 25

5:00pm

* * *

Two Neiman Marcus salesmen are fussing over Castiel, Gabriel, and Balthazar trying to get their measurements so they can find pieces that fit them properly. Between Thanksgiving tomorrow and then Christmas and New Years coming up, Castiel is in desperate need of some new outfits. They also need to find outfits to wear for the photoshoot they’ll be doing in Bangor.

Balthazar bursts through the door of the dressing room wearing a purple silk V-neck tank top with skin-tight leather pants. It might be the most flamboyant outfit Castiel has ever seen him in. He does an exaggerated spin then freezes with his hands on his hips in a perfect model pose. “Does this make me look too sexy?” He asks, laughing at his over-the-top posing.

“I don’t know, but does this suit make me look too handsome?” Castiel asks, showing off his new navy suit that’s been tailored to him. Gabriel and Balthazar don’t even look at him.

Balthazar turns to look at Gabriel’s outfit which is a bit more understated but still fits him perfectly. “Gabriel, you look like a seven-letter word for ‘great’,” he says. He’s still playing his little crossword game.

“Amazing!” Castiel shouts the answer immediately.

“I was talking to Gabe,” Balthazar snaps. He’s sitting on a bench outside of the dressing room.

“Are you pissed that I said I didn’t want to go to Abercrombie?” Castiel asks his own reflection in the mirror while he checks himself out. “Cause you know they’re not going to have anything good enough for our magazine shoot or holiday parties.”

“I don’t need any new clothes for the holidays,” Balthazar says. “My clothes from last year will work fine.”

“Might as well eat some expired ice cream while you’re at it,” Castiel jokes, expecting to hear Gabriel laugh. Instead, when he turns around, he sees Gabe looking at Balthazar in concern.

“Do you want me to buy you something, Zar?” Gabriel asks. Shit, Castiel totally forgot about Balthazar’s parents being poor. His joke must’ve sounded so insensitive. Balthazar must be upset that he can’t afford holiday clothes. He’s not mad at him.

“Yeah, we can get you something new,” Castiel says with a smile.

“I don’t need your charity,” Balthazar says, standing up.

“But that’s what friends are for,” Castiel says, putting his arm around Zar’s shoulders.

“Some friend,” Balthazar mumbles under his breath, pushing Castiel’s arm away.

“What the hell is your problem?” Castiel asks angrily.

“Nothing,” Gabe quickly chimes in. “Nothing is wrong. Right, Zar?”

Balthazar sighs, crossing his arms. “Right. I’m just angry at my parents.” Castiel stares at his friends, trying to see if they’re telling the truth. He still thinks there’s something going on with them, but he lets it go for now.

“Hey, why don’t you pick out and try on a holiday outfit anyways,” Gabriel suggests. “Just for fun.” Balthazar shoots Gabe a small smile and takes off to look for an outfit.

“Seriously, what is going on with him?” Castiel asks once Balthazar is out of earshot. Gabriel just shrugs.

“Can I help you find anything?” One of the salesmen comes over to them.

Castiel picks up his new outfits and hands them to the salesman. “Thanks, but I have all I need,” he says. “I’ll take everything plus whatever my grumpy blond friend wants.” He pulls out his wallet and hands over his card.

The salesman looks down at the card and then over at Castiel in confusion. “I’m sorry, we don’t accept Hancock school I.Ds, just Visa, American Express, and Discover.” The guy looks like he’s trying his best not to laugh. Castiel blushes and looks back through his wallet. His credit card isn’t anywhere to be found. He must’ve left it in his other pants at home.

“I’m sorry, I think I left it at home,” Castiel says, mortified. The salesman drops the clothes into the return pile and walks away.

“That sucks,” Gabriel says, but Castiel can see a small smirk on his face. He makes a show of handing over his heaping pile of clothes to the other salesman who has been helping him. “I know there’s a lot there. Do you need help carrying all of it?” Gabriel puts his dad’s exclusive black American Express card on top of the pile, and Castiel rolls his eyes.

“No, Mr. Speight, you wait here, and I’ll be right back,” the salesman says with a smile.

“I hope I can carry it all home,” Gabe says with a chuckle.

Castiel rolls his eyes again. “My life sucks,” he mumbles under his breath. He knows he’s being dramatic, but he has no idea what’s going on with his friends, and now he doesn’t even have new outfits to keep him sane.

Balthazar rejoins them holding a couple solid color cashmere sweaters. They look a bit more understated than his usual outfits, but comfy nonetheless.

“Castiel tried to pay with his student I.D., but don’t worry, I’ll pay for it,” Gabriel says, and Balthazar immediately gives him a hug.

“You’re the best friend ever!” He runs off to go try on the new sweaters.

Castiel slaps Gabriel’s arm once Balthazar is gone. “I’m going to ask you again. What’s going on?” His slap knocks Gabriel’s backpack off the one shoulder he’d had it slung across, and it falls onto the ground. Since he’d had it unzipped, the contents fall out across the floor.  
  


“Cassie, what the hell?” He screeches. 

Castiel bends down to help Gabriel pick his things up. He hadn’t meant to hit him that hard. Suddenly he recoils when his hand comes in contact with a silky dark green tie. He picks it up and holds it up to the light to examine both sides. It’s a knock-off Armani tie. What is Gabriel doing with this in his backpack? Crowley is the one who likes Armani, but he’d never buy a knock-off. Would he? Nothing makes sense.

When he holds up the tie to Gabriel with raised eyebrows, the short-haired boy pales. “Oh, that’s my dad’s tie. I was going to borrow it and must’ve forgotten to give it back.”

“Don’t lie to me,” Castiel’s voice is stern. “This is a knock-off. Your dad wouldn’t use it to wipe dog shit off of his cowboy boots.”

“Yes, he would,” Gabe yanks the tie out of his hands and stuffs it back in his backpack.

Castiel feels like he’s about to barf all over Gabriel’s new purchases. He points at his friend angrily. “You… you got this from Crowley, didn’t you?” Gabe’s lack of response is all the answer he needs. “How could you??”

“Me?” Gabriel huffs. “How could _you_?”

Castiel can barely stop to think about what that could possibly mean. He feels super dizzy all of a sudden, so he sinks down onto the bench outside of the changing rooms. Balthazar sashays out of the dressing room in one of the new sweaters. It fits him perfectly, but Castiel is too upset to compliment him.

“Hey, Zar, do you have a water bottle in your backpack? I’m thirsty,” he says, shooting a glare towards Gabriel daring him to say anything. Gabriel stays quiet, looking down at his shoes. Balthazar hands his backpack over to Castiel, and he immediately starts rifling through it.

“What do you think of this sweater?” Balthazar asks Gabriel.

“Who cares?” Gabe answers quietly. Castiel hears Balthazar ask him what’s wrong, but he doesn’t answer. Castiel gets a papercut on one of Balthazar’s notebooks, but he’s determined to find what he’s looking for. If Gabriel has one, he knows Balthazar must have one too.

“Aha!” He exclaims, pulling a purple tie out of the backpack. “Et tu, Brute?” He waves the tie around in front of Balthazar’s face.

Gabe and Balthazar stand next to each other with identical expressions of panic on their faces. “What did he say?” Gabriel whispers to Balthazar.

“It’s what Julius Caesar said when his best friend Brutus betrayed him,” Balthazar explains. “But you’re wrong, Cassie. It was _you_ that betrayed us.”

Castiel’s mouth drops open as he wracks his brain trying to figure out what is going on. He may have betrayed them in the past, but he’s really been working to turn over a new leaf recently. He’s been trying to leave his bullying self in the past. He has no idea what they could possibly be mad at him about. “How am I the Brutus?” He asks. “You’re the ones who joined Crowley’s army.”

“We only joined because we had to,” Balthazar yells. “He threatened to make our secrets public if we didn’t.”

“What secrets?” Castiel asks, genuinely confused.

“The ones we trusted you with!” Gabriel joins in. “The ones you told him after you promised you wouldn’t.”

“I didn’t tell him anything! I haven’t spoken to him at all since we confronted him in the barn.” He gasps when it sinks in. He’d seen the two of them talking with Crowley after school the other day. This must’ve been what they were talking about, but Castiel can’t figure out how Crowley would’ve learned their secrets. He’s so hurt that they’d think he would do this to them, he just picks up his bag and stomps to the store exit.

Balthazar and Gabriel try to follow him, but they’re stopped by the salesman who’d been helping them. “Wait, Mr. Speight!” The salesman rushes towards them to get Gabriel’s signature. Gabe signs the receipt with his dad’s name before continuing to chase after Castiel.

“How could Crowley possibly know what we told you at the sleepover?” Gabriel pants when he catches up. “He wasn’t there!”

“I don’t know,” Castiel responds, continuing to walk briskly. His long legs are making it hard for Gabe and Balthazar to keep up. “Maybe he figured it out. He’s not dumb, and like you said there’s already rumors about your dad and the actress who plays Dr. Piccolo hooking up.”

“Well, for some reason he didn’t guess that you’re gay,” Balthazar shouts after him.

Castiel stops mid-stride, and turns around quickly. “Will you be quiet? There could be people from school here. What if someone hears you?” He glances around to make sure nobody had overheard them.

“Now you know how we feel,” Balthazar sneers. He must see the hurt in Castiel’s eyes, because he looks away quickly. Surely, Balthazar knows that potentially outing him is much worse than someone figuring out his family isn’t rich, right?

“I didn’t tell Crowley anything,” Castiel says, feeling defeated. If they don’t believe him, how is he supposed to change their minds? He’s also hurt that they’d jump so quickly to believe the worst of him without even asking him first. He knows he’s done some awful things to his friends, but if they think he’s that bad of a person, why are they hanging out with him? He decides to ask them. “If you’re so mad at me, why did you agree to go shopping?”

“We needed a ride,” Gabriel shrugs.

“Wow.” Castiel feels like he’s been punched in the stomach. He turns and leaves the store, walking straight through the metal detector and into the throng of holiday shoppers. Balthazar runs after him.

“I’d rather be poor than a liar,” he yells at him, crossing over the threshold of the store. The security alarms immediately start blaring and security guards rush over to stop Balthazar. He’d stepped through the metal detector before taking the sweater off first. Gabriel rushes to his rescue, waving around his dad’s fancy credit card.

Castiel uses the distraction to escape into the crowd of people. He doesn’t want to run into anyone from school in case he starts crying. He keeps wiping his eyes, frustrated to find liquid there every time he does. How can he stop himself from crying though? His worst fears have come true. His friend group has imploded, and he’s stuck at the mall without a credit card.

Thursday, November 26

3:32pm

* * *

Dean sits at the large dining room table in the Novak’s house trying his best not to make eye-contact with his neighbor who is sitting across from him. The last time they’d been in this room, Dean had made that stupid kissing bet. It’s kind of funny how quickly things have changed since them. For a moment, he’d begun to think he and Cas were building a friendship, but now he knows that’s bullshit.

He doesn’t want to cause a scene at Thanksgiving dinner though, especially since the Novaks were nice enough to invite them over. Sam passes him the mashed potatoes from where he’s sitting on his right. Dean takes a couple spoons for himself and then passes it to his dad on his left.

“So, Dean,” Mrs. Novak starts. He’s not sure if she can pick up on the tension, but she sounds a bit nervous. “What kinds of Thanksgiving traditions did you guys have back in Kansas?”

Dean flinches. Thanksgiving in the Winchester house usually involved Dean and Sam eating a tub of KFC fried chicken while their dad was passed out on the couch. He’s not going to say that though. Sam scoffs beside him.

“Oh, probably the same as anywhere,” John says around a mouthful of turkey. Dean feels Castiel’s eyes on him, but he doesn’t meet them. He knows the second he sees that color blue, he will lose the tentative grip he has on his anger.

Sam bursts out laughing, and the entire table turns to look at him. “Sammy,” Dean warns quietly, but of course Sam doesn’t listen. He’s twelve, after all. He may be mature for his age, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to help Dean cover up all of their dad’s bullshit.

“We don’t have Thanksgiving traditions, because this is our first real Thanksgiving since our mom died,” Sam explains. Dean finally looks up at Cas and sees that he looks upset. He quickly looks over at Naomi and Chuck, and they just look confused.

“Of course, we have Thanksgiving,” John says neutrally, but Dean can hear the anger simmering below the surface. He’s not drunk since they’re guests here, but that doesn’t mean he won’t lash out. Dean needs to do something to ease the tension.

“What about you guys?” Dean asks, trying to shift the conversation away from them and into safer territory.

Before the Novaks are able to respond, Sam speaks up again. “Dad, you’re seriously going to act like we’re a normal family? In front of your best friends?” Dean turns to glare at his younger brother. _What the fuck has gotten into him?_

“Sam, stop it,” Dean hisses under his breath. He can tell that the Novaks are starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry,” Sam says sarcastically. “Eating fast food fried chicken while my dad is passed out drunk doesn’t exactly make my holiday highlight reel.” Sam pushes himself back from the table and storms out of the room. Dean looks over at John, and he can tell that he’s fuming, but at least he also has the decency to look a bit embarrassed. He apologizes quickly and chases after Sam, yelling his name.

Dean is left sitting awkwardly at the table while the Novaks all look at him, waiting for an explanation. “I’m sorry,” Dean says, looking down at his half-eaten mashed potatoes. “Holidays have been hard since my mom passed away,” he tries to explain. “Sammy is young, so he doesn’t understand.”

After a beat of silence, Naomi speaks up. “It’s okay, hun. You can feel free to stay and finish your dinner if you want to.” She exchanges a look with Chuck though, and Dean can tell that they’re both concerned by John’s behavior. He just hopes they don’t figure out the extent of John’s issues. He isn’t ready to get kicked out of here. He’s gotten used to having a nice house and plenty of food in the fridge.

“Thanks, but I should probably go,” Dean says, pushing back from the table. He leaves before they can try to convince him to stay. The last thing he wants to do is have to awkwardly sit at a dinner with Castiel and his overly-concerned parents. He rushes back to the guest house to make sure John isn’t taking out his frustrations on Sam. He doesn’t usually get physical unless he’s been drinking, but Dean isn’t going to take that chance.

Thursday, November 26

4:01pm

* * *

Castiel feels a pit forming in his stomach as he watches Dean go to follow his father and brother. He knows his parents are going to have questions for him about what just happened, and he has no idea what he’s going to say. He can’t betray Dean’s confidence and tell them that John has an alcohol problem. He can’t do that if he ever hopes to fix things between the two of them.

It was clear during the dinner that Dean is angry with him about something. He wonders if Balthazar and Gabriel talked to him and convinced him that Castiel had broken their trust. Or maybe Dean remembered all the shit Castiel had put him through earlier in the year and decided he didn’t actually forgive him.

He looks up at his parents and sees a bunch of unanswered questions on their faces. “Is something wrong with John Winchester?” Chuck asks him. He doesn’t sound angry. He sounds genuinely concerned about his friend.

Castiel shrugs and picks a lie. “I know that their mother passed away around this time of year, so the holidays are hard on them.” Chuck and Naomi exchange glances. “Plus, Sam is just a kid. He had to move across the country. It’s probably a hard adjustment for him.”

Naomi sighs, “Honey, what about those bruises—”

“Mom, I told you. Dean was out hiking too late, and he fell down,” Castiel says in a rush. “Back in Kansas there aren’t any rocky cliffs to fall down. I told him it’s dangerous to hike out here after the sun goes down.”

Chuck sighs and gets up to start clearing the table. None of them are in the mood to finish eating now. Castiel is about to join him when Naomi gently grabs his arm. “At least go bring them some pie for later,” she says. “John said it’s Dean’s favorite.”

Castiel’s nerves spike again at the thought of having to talk to Dean when he’s clearly angry at him for some reason, but he takes the pie and slowly walks over to the guest house. When he knocks on the door, it isn’t Dean who opens it. It’s Sam.

“Hi,” Castiel says quietly. “Is Dean here?”

“H-he went for a walk,” Sam stutters. “He needed to cool off.” Castiel uses his intimidating stare, and Sam looks down at his feet. It’s obvious he’s covering for Dean. That confirms it. His neighbor _has_ been avoiding him. He looks past Sam up the stairs towards Dean’s bedroom. The door is closed.

“My mom wanted me to take you some pie,” Castiel explains, holding the pie out for Sam to take.

Sam blushes. “I’m sorry I ruined Thanksgiving.”

Castiel starts shaking his head even before the kid finishes. “It’s not your fault. Don’t worry. My parents weren’t mad, just concerned.” Sam looks up quickly. “I didn’t tell them about anything,” Castiel reassures him.

“Thanks.”

“Are you alright?” Castiel asks hesitantly. He doesn’t want to outright ask if John hit him or Dean after they left, but he also doesn’t want to leave until he knows they’re okay.

Sam’s eyes harden. “I’m fine. He only gets physical when he’s drunk, and even then, he only hits Dean.”

Castiel nods. “Is Dean—”

Before he’s able to get that thought out, Sam interrupts him. “Whatever is going on between you two, I don’t want to get in the middle of it.” Castiel sighs. He’s about to turn around and leave when Sam continues, “I’m not sure what happened, but Dean is stubborn. Just give him some space.”

Castiel nods, and Sam closes the door. On the walk back to the main house, he ponders what could’ve happened. He’s not sure if it was something he did or something Crowley or the other boys said. Clearly Dean is upset about something. He wants to take Sam’s advice and give Dean some space, but he doesn’t want to give him too much in case Dean decides he’s better off without him. He knows it’s unlikely he’ll ever have Dean in the way he wants to, but he can’t let himself lose him as a friend. He has to find some way to fix things.


End file.
